''Striver'' (''Fen-Dou-Zhe'', or 奋斗者 in Chinese)

bathyscaphe A bathyscaphe ( or ) is a free-diving self-propelled deep-sea submersible, consisting of a crew cabin similar to a bathysphere, but suspended below a float rather than from a surface cable, as in the classic bathysphere design. The float is fi ...

is a type of

deep-submergence vehicle A deep-submergence vehicle (DSV) is a deep-diving crewed submersible that is self-propelled. Several navies operate vehicles that can be accurately described as DSVs. DSVs are commonly divided into two types: research DSVs, which are used for ex ...

built in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(PRC). It was built by

China State Shipbuilding Corporation The China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) is a Chinese shipbuilding conglomerate. Description CSSC is one of the top 10 defence groups in China. It consists of various shipyards, equipment manufacturers, research institutes and shipb ...

(CSSC). It can accommodate three crew members,and is designed to reach depths of more than 10,000 meters. ''Striver'' is equipped with two

mechanical arm A mechanical arm is a machine that mimics the action of a human arm. Mechanical arms are composed of multiple beams connected by hinges powered by actuators. One end of the arm is attached to a firm base while the other has a tool. They can be c ...

s, seven

underwater camera Underwater photography is the process of taking photographs while under water. It is usually done while scuba diving, but can be done while diving on surface supply, snorkeling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snor ...

s, seven

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

s, hydraulic drills, and other scientific devices. On 10 November 2020, the bottom of the

Challenger Deep The Challenger Deep is the deepest-known point of the seabed of Earth, with a depth of by direct measurement from deep-diving submersibles, remotely operated underwater vehicles and benthic landers, and (sometimes) slightly more by sonar bathym ...

was reached by ''Striver'' with three Chinese scientists (Zhāng Wěi 张伟 ilot Zhào Yáng 赵洋, and Wáng Zhìqiáng 王治强) onboard whilst livestreaming the descent to a reported depth of .

Design

In comparison to the earlier ''Deep Sea Warrior'' bathyscaphe that was 95% domestically built, ''Striver'' is 96.5% domestic, but can dive more than twice as deep. A significant portion of the onboard equipment has to be allocated to support the dive. In comparison to the ten-hour endurance of ''Deep Sea Warrior'', ''Striver'' last for six hours. ''Striver'' can dive and surface much faster,and its crew compartment is built of

titanium alloy Titanium alloys are alloys that contain a mixture of titanium and other chemical elements. Such alloys have very high tensile strength and toughness (even at extreme temperatures). They are light in weight, have extraordinary corrosion resistance a ...

Ti62A, specially developed for use on ''Striver'', and a new welding method. It is equipped with cameras made by the Norwegian manufacturer Imenco. The designer is Ye Cong (叶聪).The mechanical arms of ''Striver'' were developed by

Shenyang Institute of Automation Shenyang Institute of Automation () of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was founded in 1958. It is mainly engaged in mechatronic engineering, pattern recognition and intelligent system, control theory and control engineering Control engin ...

, and each is capable of handling 60 kg of weight. The

mothership A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft. Examples include bombers converted to carry experimental airc ...

s of the ''Striver'' bathyscaphe are the same ones used for ''Deep Sea Warrior'' bathyscaphe: Chinese

research vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

''Explorer 1''(''Tan-Suo 1'', or 探索一号 in Chinese) and ''Explorer 2''.

Specification

Specifications are: *Weight: 36 ton *Crew: 3 *Payload: 240 kg *Endurance: 6 hours

References

{{Reflist, 2 Research submarines of China

Design

Specification

See also

References