{"id":39286,"date":"2015-07-23T21:43:10","date_gmt":"2015-07-23T13:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/university-of-essex-propose-training-pool-larger-than-the-nbl\/"},"modified":"2015-07-23T21:43:10","modified_gmt":"2015-07-23T13:43:10","slug":"university-of-essex-propose-training-pool-larger-than-the-nbl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/university-of-essex-propose-training-pool-larger-than-the-nbl\/","title":{"rendered":"University of Essex propose training pool larger than the NBL"},"content":{"rendered":"

ESA astronaut Tim Peake has provided his backing for a University of Essex proposal to build the world\u2019s deepest and largest pool for space and deep-sea research and training. Such a pool would provide the UK with its own \u201crival\u201d to the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston.<\/p>\n

Astro Pool:<\/p>\n

The University of Essex announced it has entered exploratory discussions to establish the world\u2019s deepest and largest research, training and development pool on the Knowledge Gateway research and business park at the Colchester Campus.<\/p>\n

Development partner Blue Abyss says the pool, which will be 50 meters long and 50 meters deep, will be the UK and Europe\u2019s premier marine and space research facility \u2013 offering the ability to simulate outer space and deep-sea environments in one location.<\/p>\n

It would become a UK option to the training pool located at space centers in Russia and \u2013 arguably the most famous facility \u2013 in Houston.<\/p>\n

\"2015-07-23-151107\"The 202-foot-long, 102-foot-wide pool is at the center of JSC\u2019s NBL \u2013 which was designed to support spacewalk planning and training using full-scale mockups of the space shuttle and a large area of the International Space Station (ISS).<\/p>\n

While the 6.2 million-gallon, 40-foot-deep pool has continued to support NASA\u2019s activities, a transparent 12-foot faux floor was installed into designated areas to support survival training for its commercial activities that is being utilized by Raytheon Technical Services and Petrofac Training Services.<\/p>\n

While oil workers enjoy safety drills in the NBL, the facility is still very much focused on training ISS astronauts ahead of their missions to the orbital outpost, especially if they are tasked with spacewalks.<\/p>\n

\"2015-07-23-151215\"One future ISS resident, Tim Peake \u2013 who will become the UK\u2019s first \u201cgovernment-sponsored\u201d astronaut when he launched at the end of this year on Soyuz TMA-19M \u2013 has trained in the NBL and welcomes the prospect of a similar facility in the UK.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI support Blue Abyss and sees this future facility as something that does not yet exist in Europe and that would compete with, or potentially even surpass, what is available in the United States and Russia. In my view, this will be an outstanding \u2018European facility\u2019,\u201d noted the former British Army Air Corps officer.<\/p>\n

The scope of the facility, which was showcased at the UK Space Conference in Liverpool, is huge from human spaceflight research programs to environmental monitoring.<\/p>\n

See Also<\/h4>\n