Two hemispheres of titanium were forged in a plant in Wisconsin to create Alvin's new personnel sphere. Subsequently, engineers in California and Texas removed material from the hemishphere's interiors and exteriors to reduce its thickness to 3 inches. The sphere will be pressure tested next week in Anapolis, Md., before its scheduled arrivat at WHOI in July. (Photo courtesy of the Advanced Imaging & Visualization Laboratory, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)[back]
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