Mariana Trench Dive – Support Ship Fits Advanced VSAT

Support ship for deep ocean dive byJames Cameron expedition fitted with Acutec advanced communications equipment

The historic expedition to the Mariana Trench’s lowest point, the Challenger Deep, which lies 6.83 miles (10.99 kilometers) below the ocean surface, is the first extensive scientific exploration in a manned submersible of the deepest spot on Earth. Piloting the Deepsea Challenger, which is outfitted for scientific exploration, James Cameron will conduct tests, collect samples, and document the experience in the high-resolution 3-D for which he’s known globally.

Working for the Deep Sea Challenge project's communications provider Telstra, Acutec has recently installed a complete Sea Tel-based system on the deep-dive support boat Mermaid Sapphire. 

With a brief to provide fast, reliable, redundant satellite communications for the project, the Acutec team supplied and installed both C and Ku-band Sea Tel marine VSAT antennas on Mermaid Sapphire and then a second support vessel at short notice.

The solution includes satellite bandwidth, along with voice and network infrastructure and technical support. It enables the large embarked team of scientists, engineers, film-makers and other personnel to communicate. The large C-band system is used by Telstra engineers to send high-definition video to the world's shore-based media networks in real-time.

The project team, submersible and support ships make final preparations on the Pacific island of Guam, approximately 200nm North of the dive site.