Tektite habitat
Encyclopedia
The Tektite habitat was an underwater laboratory which was the home to divers during Tektite I and II programs. The Tektite program was the first scientists-in-the-sea program sponsored nationally. The habitat capsule was placed in Great Lameshur Bay, Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands
in 1969 and again in 1970.
The Tektite habitat was designed and built by General Electric Company Space Division at the Valley Forge Space Technology Center in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
. The Project Engineer who was responsible for the design of the habitat was Brooks Tenney, Jr. Brooks also served as the underwater Habitat Engineer on the International Mission, the last mission on the Tektite II project. The Program Manager for the Tektite I project at General Electric was Bren Thompson, and the Program Manager for the Tektite II project was Brooks Tenney, Jr. The Habitat appears as a pair of silos: two white metal cylinders 4 m in diameter, 6 m high, joined by a flexible tunnel and seated on a rectangular base in 15 m of water.
The Tektite Project was led by Theodore Marton who worked for General Electric.
by a single team. On April 15, 1969, the aquanaut team returned to the surface with over 58 days of marine scientific studies. More than 19 hours of decompression
time were needed to accommodate the scientists' return to the surface. The United States Office of Naval Research
coordinated Tektite I.
Much of the research for Tektite I centered around humans in this new environment. Topics investigated would include: biology
(blood changes, sleep patterns, oxygen toxicity
), decompression and decompression sickness
, microbiology
and mycology
.
coordinated Tektite II, with part of the funding coming from NASA
, which was interested in the psychological study of the scientific teams working in closed environments, similar to that of spacecraft.
The missions were carried out in 1970. Tektite II comprised ten missions lasting 10-20 days with four scientists and an engineer on each mission. Other scientists participating in the all-female mission included Renate True of Tulane
, as well as Ann Hartline and Alina Szmant, graduate students at Scripps Institute of Oceanography. The fifth member of the crew was Margaret Ann Lucas, a Villanova
engineering graduate, who served as Habitat Engineer. The Tektite II missions were the first to undertake in-depth ecological studies.
Medical and human research oversight for Tektite II was well documented in a series of reports covering a project overview, saturation diving, lessons learned from Tektite I, application to Tektite II, medical responsibilities and psychological monitoring, medical supervision duties medical and biological objectives project logistics, lessons learned, excursions to deeper depths from storage pressure, decompression tables, general medical observations, psychological observations, blood changes and general program conclusions.
of coral reef
fishes carried out during the Tektite series:
techniques in an underwater laboratory, breathing a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere could be safely and efficiently accomplished at a minimal cost.
Lambertsen's
"Predictive Studies Series" that started with Tektite I in 1969 and ended in 1997, researched many aspects of human physiology
in extreme environments.
Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint John is an island in the Caribbean Sea and a constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. St...
in 1969 and again in 1970.
Habitat
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
King of Prussia is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 19,936. The community took its name in the 18th century from a local tavern named the King of Prussia Inn, which was named after...
. The Project Engineer who was responsible for the design of the habitat was Brooks Tenney, Jr. Brooks also served as the underwater Habitat Engineer on the International Mission, the last mission on the Tektite II project. The Program Manager for the Tektite I project at General Electric was Bren Thompson, and the Program Manager for the Tektite II project was Brooks Tenney, Jr. The Habitat appears as a pair of silos: two white metal cylinders 4 m in diameter, 6 m high, joined by a flexible tunnel and seated on a rectangular base in 15 m of water.
The Tektite Project was led by Theodore Marton who worked for General Electric.
Tektite I
On February 15, 1969, four U. S. Department of Interior scientists (Ed Clifton, Conrad Mahnken, Richard Waller and John VanDerwalker) descended to the ocean floor in Great Lameshur Bay in the U. S. Virgin Islands to begin an ambitious diving project dubbed "Tektite I". By March 18, 1969, the four aquanauts had established a new world's record for saturated divingSaturation diving
Saturation diving is a diving technique that allows divers to reduce the risk of decompression sickness when they work at great depth for long periods of time....
by a single team. On April 15, 1969, the aquanaut team returned to the surface with over 58 days of marine scientific studies. More than 19 hours of decompression
Decompression
Decompression has several meanings:* Decompression , the release of pressure and the opposition of physical compression* Decompression sickness, a condition arising from the precipitation of dissolved gases into bubbles inside the body on depressurization* Decompression , a procedure used to treat...
time were needed to accommodate the scientists' return to the surface. The United States Office of Naval Research
Office of Naval Research
The Office of Naval Research , headquartered in Arlington, Virginia , is the office within the United States Department of the Navy that coordinates, executes, and promotes the science and technology programs of the U.S...
coordinated Tektite I.
Much of the research for Tektite I centered around humans in this new environment. Topics investigated would include: biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
(blood changes, sleep patterns, oxygen toxicity
Oxygen toxicity
Oxygen toxicity is a condition resulting from the harmful effects of breathing molecular oxygen at elevated partial pressures. It is also known as oxygen toxicity syndrome, oxygen intoxication, and oxygen poisoning...
), decompression and decompression sickness
Decompression sickness
Decompression sickness describes a condition arising from dissolved gases coming out of solution into bubbles inside the body on depressurization...
, microbiology
Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
and mycology
Mycology
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans as a source for tinder, medicinals , food and entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or...
.
Tektite II
The United States Department of the InteriorUnited States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
coordinated Tektite II, with part of the funding coming from NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, which was interested in the psychological study of the scientific teams working in closed environments, similar to that of spacecraft.
The missions were carried out in 1970. Tektite II comprised ten missions lasting 10-20 days with four scientists and an engineer on each mission. Other scientists participating in the all-female mission included Renate True of Tulane
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
, as well as Ann Hartline and Alina Szmant, graduate students at Scripps Institute of Oceanography. The fifth member of the crew was Margaret Ann Lucas, a Villanova
Villanova University
Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
engineering graduate, who served as Habitat Engineer. The Tektite II missions were the first to undertake in-depth ecological studies.
Medical and human research oversight for Tektite II was well documented in a series of reports covering a project overview, saturation diving, lessons learned from Tektite I, application to Tektite II, medical responsibilities and psychological monitoring, medical supervision duties medical and biological objectives project logistics, lessons learned, excursions to deeper depths from storage pressure, decompression tables, general medical observations, psychological observations, blood changes and general program conclusions.
Tektite III
Tektite III (Project Tektite) was a wholly owned and operated California 501 C(3) Non-Profit Corporation. Harold C. Ross was Project Manager. When Tektite II ended General Electric placed the Habitat in storage in Philadelphia. A group of interested parties purchased the Habitat from General Electric for $1.00 with the stipulation it would be removed from the GE storage facility. The Habitat was trucked across the United States to Ft. Mason in San Francisco where it was placed on display. Attempts were made to refurbish the Habitat so it could be used in San Francisco Bay as a teaching tool. Unfortunately the cost of refurbishment was beyond the financial means of the Board and no further effort was made. During the more than 10 years the Habitat was on display at Ft Mason, many school children were taken through the Habitat free of charge by volunteers. Unfortunately lack of funds ended the Project and the Habitat was sold and moved to storage along the Oakland Estuary.Ecology
There were nine studies on the ecologyEcology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
of coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
fishes carried out during the Tektite series:
- influence of herbivores on marine plants
- bio-acoustic studies
- observations on cleaner shrimpCleaner shrimpCleaner shrimp is a generic term for any swimming decapod crustacean that cleans other organisms of parasites. This is a widely-cited example of symbiosis: a relationship in which both parties benefit. The fish benefit by having parasites removed from them, and the shrimp gain the nutritional value...
s - isopods associated with reef fishes
- behavior of reef fishes in relation to fish pots
- bioturbationBioturbationIn oceanography, limnology, pedology, geology , and archaeology, bioturbation is the displacement and mixing of sediment particles and solutes by fauna or flora . The mediators of bioturbation are typically annelid worms , bivalves In oceanography, limnology, pedology, geology (especially...
by the sand tilefishTilefishTilefishes, also known as blanquillo, are mostly small perciform marine fish comprising the family Malacanthidae.They are usually found in sandy areas, especially near coral reefs.... - escape response in a damsel fish
- nocturnal-diurnal changeover in activity patterns, and
- space resource-sharing
Physiology
A goal of the Tektite program was to prove that saturation divingSaturation diving
Saturation diving is a diving technique that allows divers to reduce the risk of decompression sickness when they work at great depth for long periods of time....
techniques in an underwater laboratory, breathing a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere could be safely and efficiently accomplished at a minimal cost.
Lambertsen's
Christian J. Lambertsen
Christian James Lambertsen was an American environmental medicine and diving medicine specialist who was principally responsible for developing the United States Navy frogmen's rebreathers in the early 1940s for underwater warfare...
"Predictive Studies Series" that started with Tektite I in 1969 and ended in 1997, researched many aspects of human physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
in extreme environments.
Further reading
- Collette, B.B. and S.A. Earle. (Eds.). 1972. Results of the Tektite Program: Ecology of coral-reef fishes. Los Angeles Co. Nat. Hist. Mus. Sci. Bull. 14. 180 p.