Virgin Oceanic: Branson unveils his deep-sea plans
Continuing his one-man quest to conquer all environments, Sir Richard Branson has revealed his next target -- the deepest parts of the world's oceans.
Virgin Oceanic will see Branson and fellow adventurers exploring the bottom of the deepest oceans in a specially constructed craft, DeepFlight Challenger, which was designed by Graham Hawkes.
The submersible is built from carbon fibre and has a viewing capsule made from a single piece of quartz which can endure the pressure of 1,000 atmospheres at depth.
Over the next two years the Virgin sub will be used to dive to the deepest parts of each of the world's oceans… and some people said Branson couldn't sink any lower.
The first Virgin Oceanic dive will be to the deepest place on the planet: the bottom of the Mariana Trench – a massive 11km down. All of the dives are designed to gather scientific data about ocean trenches.
The second dive – piloted by Branson - will go to the bottom of the Puerto Rico Trench, the deepest spot in the Atlantic Ocean at over 8km. This location is also near to Branson’s home on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands.
Subsequent dives will carry a human pilot to the bottom of the Arctic, Southern and Indian oceans.
Virgin Oceanic will see Branson and fellow adventurers exploring the bottom of the deepest oceans in a specially constructed craft, DeepFlight Challenger, which was designed by Graham Hawkes.
The submersible is built from carbon fibre and has a viewing capsule made from a single piece of quartz which can endure the pressure of 1,000 atmospheres at depth.
Over the next two years the Virgin sub will be used to dive to the deepest parts of each of the world's oceans… and some people said Branson couldn't sink any lower.
The second dive – piloted by Branson - will go to the bottom of the Puerto Rico Trench, the deepest spot in the Atlantic Ocean at over 8km. This location is also near to Branson’s home on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands.
Subsequent dives will carry a human pilot to the bottom of the Arctic, Southern and Indian oceans.