Aerospace giants NASA, Boeing dodge Titan claims, say had limited roles

OceanGate co-founder Stockton Rush on Thursday disclosed that the carbon fiber hull of the submersible that imploded was developed with the assistance of NASA and aerospace manufacturers. However, a NASA official stated that the agency had limited involvement, and a Boeing representative mentioned that some of their recommendations were overlooked.

Justin Jackson, a materials engineer for NASA informed that the aerospace giant was supposed to play a role in building and testing the carbon fiber hull but could not because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was not involved with the submersible Titan other than consulting on a one-third scale mockup.

Jackson said that at one point NASA hesitated to allow its name to be invoked by OceanGate. “The language they were using was getting too close to us endorsing, so our folks had some heartburn,” he informed the Coast Guard panel.

Boeing’s material and process engineer, Mark Negley, said that the company was involved in an early feasibility study of the use of carbon fiber for Titan's hull and in OceanGate's acoustic sensors on it, however, OceanGate had other ideas about the hull’s thickness and orientation of carbon fiber layers required for greatest strength than what was recommended.

Earlier this month, the Coast Guard had opened a public hearing which is part of a high-level investigation to investigate the cause of the implosion. The officials found out at the beginning of the hearing that, despite the standard practice, the submersible was not independently reviewed which along with Titan’s unusual design subjected it to scrutiny in the undersea exploration community.

John Winters, a Coast Guard marine inspector in Washington state, testified that Rush railed against regulations that he said stifled innovation but also noted that Rush did not attempt to circumvent any Coast Guard regulations. He also said that he was not aware whether Oceangate ever notified the Coast Guard of its construction or requested its guidance or inspection.

“We didn’t get into about what standards it was built to, who built it. None of that was discussed,” Winters said. “It was just, 'Hey, we have a submarine. It’s good for 4,000 meters. We have a submarine to do that now,’" he said.

The hearing, which is expected to run through Friday will be including more witnesses.

Previously in the hearing, former OceanGate operations director David Lochridge revealed that he felt the company was committed only to making money and his opinions frequently clashed with Rush.

“The whole idea behind the company was to make money,” Lochridge testified. “There was very little in the way of science.”

Testimonies of Lochridge and other witnesses, give an impression that the company was impatient to get its unconventionally designed craft into the water.
Washington based OceanGate, suspended its operations after the implosion. Though the company has no full-time employees currently, but has been represented by an attorney during the hearing.