Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM

Monday, May 10, 2004 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium

Curt Newport

"Raising Gus Grissom's Mercury Capsule"

ABSTRACT -- On July 21, 1961, the United States launched astronaut Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom on America's second manned space mission. While the flight itself was a success, Grissom nearly drowned as his Mercury capsule, Liberty Bell 7, sank in deep water after an explosive hatch jettisoned prematurely. Over twenty years later, Curt Newport made a personal commitment to determine whether or not it was technically feasible to locate and recover Liberty Bell 7. In May of 1999 a Discovery Channel expedition organized by Liberty Bell-7, Inc. successfully located Liberty Bell 7 in waters 16,043 feet deep using Oceaneering International's Ocean Explorer 6000 side scan sonar; the spacecraft was discovered intact amidst the rugged terrain of the Blake Basin, in the North Atlantic Ocean, proving the feasibility of using a wide swath low frequency sonar to locate small-sized isolated targets. This effort was followed up in July by a second mission using the newly built Ocean Discovery Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) which successfully lifted the Mercury capsule to the surface following several dives to the site where custom built recovery tools, a lifting sling, and Kevlar recovery line were attached to the space artifact. Consequently, thirty-eight years to the day, Liberty Bell 7 was returned to its point of origin, Cape Canaveral, Florida, thus completing one of the deepest commercial salvage operations on record

SPEAKER -- Curt Newport pioneers the use of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) in the ocean. Overall, he has piloted ROVs on over 50 undersea operations and is regarded as one of the most experienced submersible vehicle pilots in the world. He has participated in numerous high-profile undersea operations such as the salvage of Air India Flight 182, the Space Shuttle Challenger, TWA 800, the broadcast of live images from the sunken ocean liner RMS Titanic, the study of a 19th century merchant ship lost in almost 16,000 feet of water (the deepest wooden shipwreck ever discovered), as well as many other classified missions involving the loss of military aircraft and weaponry.

Mr. Newport's book Lost Spacecraft, the Search for Liberty Bell 7 (Apogee Books, 2002) recounts the story of his recovery of the capsule, an accomplishment for which his alma mater, Capitol College of Laurel, Maryland, awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Science (D Sc.).

Mr. Newport is a member of the Marine Technology Society, Explorers Club, as well as the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineer's Marine Forensic Panel, formed in conjunction with the Salvage Committee - Maritime Law Association and the Royal Institution of Naval Architects.

He currently resides in Potomac, Maryland, where he organizes and supports various underwater operations on an international basis.