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Bizarre Navy 'Flip Ship' Turns 50

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posted on Jun, 27 2012 @ 01:53 PM
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Very interesting ship built for research that I had never heard of and thought I would see if anyone here had more information on. Was this what recorded the infamous "Bloop" I have heard and read about? Tried to search for it here but couldn't find any posts about it.

FLIP Ship




Taxpayer dollars fund all sorts of strange things, from mysterious drones to vacuum-powered wall-climbers, but one unlikely investment that's kept paying off for half a century is the Navy's Floating Instrument Platform. In its research mode, with sensor arms extended over the water, FLIP looks like an alien probe out of the sci-fi stinker Battleship, but in fact it's a floating research station built back in 1962.



edit on 6/27/12 by Vasa Croe because: (no reason given)



posted on Jun, 27 2012 @ 02:07 PM
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FLIP (Floating Instrument Platform) is the US Navy's oldest, and most unusual, research vessel.

Commonly referred to as the FLIP ship, it is actually a 355ft long, spoon-shaped buoy which can be flipped from horizontal to a vertical position by pumping 700t of seawater into the 'handle' end whilst flooding air into the 'cradle', causing it to rise up out of the sea.

Once the 28 minute transformation from horizontal to vertical has taken place, 300m of the buoy are submerged underwater, keeping the 700 long-ton mass steady and making it perfect for researching wave height, acoustic signals, water temperature and density, and for the collection of meteorological data.

FLIP was created in 1962 by scientists Dr Fred Fisher and Dr Fred Spiess, who wanted a more stable space than a conventional research ship to study wave forms. The build was funded by the US Office of Naval Research (who still own the buoy) and the Marine Physical Laboratory of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (who still operate it) and launched by The Gunderson Brothers Engineering Company of Portland, Oregon.

FLIP was given a $2m makeover in 1995 and currently resides in La Jolla, California, although it operates all over the world. The buoy has so far completed over 300 operations.

www.ship-technology.com...

www.utsandiego.com...
www-mpl.ucsd.edu...
www.youtube.com...



posted on Jun, 27 2012 @ 02:16 PM
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You can frequently see her docked at Scripps right between where they train the naval Dolphins and the sub pens at Point Loma.



posted on Jun, 27 2012 @ 02:20 PM
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Pretty cool, I wonder if similar technology could be used to say launch space craft from sea level.



posted on Jun, 27 2012 @ 02:30 PM
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reply to post by Vasa Croe
 


The "Bloop" was recorded by Equatorial Pacific Ocean autonomous hydrophone array, sort of like under water sonar microphones. Check this site out NOAA

I was contracted for NOAA when I was a sophomore and junior in college. I didn't do anything scientific, I was a budget pencil pusher, but I got to see some of the more interesting budget lines. One is the undersea lab off of the coast of Florida that my undergrad school maintained. Aquarius Another thing I got to see is the graduate students budget that were going on a ship like this, I forgot the specific name though. I think it was in the Gulf of Mexico.



posted on Jun, 27 2012 @ 02:32 PM
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Originally posted by Dookie Master
reply to post by Vasa Croe
 


The "Bloop" was recorded by Equatorial Pacific Ocean autonomous hydrophone array, sort of like under water sonar microphones. Check this site out NOAA

I was contracted for NOAA when I was a sophomore and junior in college. I didn't do anything scientific, I was a budget pencil pusher, but I got to see some of the more interesting budget lines. One is the undersea lab off of the coast of Florida that my undergrad school maintained. Aquarius Another thing I got to see is the graduate students budget that were going on a ship like this, I forgot the specific name though. I think it was in the Gulf of Mexico.


Ah yes....Aquarius is where they are doing the NEEMO training and training astronauts to essentially be able to land and operate on large meteors in space should they ever be able to accomplish the feat of landing them on one. I think it was NEEMO13 they did that on.



posted on Jun, 27 2012 @ 02:32 PM
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Originally posted by Zaphod58

FLIP (Floating Instrument Platform) is the US Navy's oldest, and most unusual, research vessel.

Commonly referred to as the FLIP ship, it is actually a 355ft long, spoon-shaped buoy which can be flipped from horizontal to a vertical position by pumping 700t of seawater into the 'handle' end whilst flooding air into the 'cradle', causing it to rise up out of the sea.

Once the 28 minute transformation from horizontal to vertical has taken place, 300m of the buoy are submerged underwater, keeping the 700 long-ton mass steady and making it perfect for researching wave height, acoustic signals, water temperature and density, and for the collection of meteorological data.

FLIP was created in 1962 by scientists Dr Fred Fisher and Dr Fred Spiess, who wanted a more stable space than a conventional research ship to study wave forms. The build was funded by the US Office of Naval Research (who still own the buoy) and the Marine Physical Laboratory of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (who still operate it) and launched by The Gunderson Brothers Engineering Company of Portland, Oregon.

FLIP was given a $2m makeover in 1995 and currently resides in La Jolla, California, although it operates all over the world. The buoy has so far completed over 300 operations.

www.ship-technology.com...

www.utsandiego.com...
www-mpl.ucsd.edu...
www.youtube.com...


Very cool...thanks for all the helpful links.



posted on Jun, 27 2012 @ 02:38 PM
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I was fascinated by FLIP as a kid (when it was much newer and I was in my "I want to be an oceanographer" stage).
There's an updated version in the works.


edit on 6/27/2012 by Phage because: (no reason given)



posted on Jun, 27 2012 @ 02:42 PM
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reply to post by Vasa Croe
 


When I was doing the budget line for the center for marine science professors wanted to go there for a vacation, believe it or not. I would look at the paltry conditions and say "no thank you" (no youtube then, no netflix, and at the mercy of tropical storms)



posted on Jun, 27 2012 @ 02:44 PM
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reply to post by Phage
 


That thing is awesome! I want to completely turn my studies and be a marine biologist. Reminds me of that show from the 90's Seaquest DSV



posted on Jun, 27 2012 @ 03:11 PM
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Originally posted by Phage
I was fascinated by FLIP as a kid (when it was much newer and I was in my "I want to be an oceanographer" stage).
There's an updated version in the works.


edit on 6/27/2012 by Phage because: (no reason given)


For lack of a better term....COOL! What an interesting research vessel. I would love to see this one out in the open water one day.



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