Oil Rigs on the Moon: Aerospace and Offshore Synergies

8/21/2019 Oil Rigs on the Moon: Aerospace and Offshore Synergies

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Oil Rigs on the Moon: Aerospace and

Offshore Synergies

Author: Everett Chase-Lead Research Analyst | Interactive Site: www.Reaching-Ultra.com

To many observers the synergy between NASA and the offshore industry via Raytheon and Petrofac—to

provide offshore training at NASA’s National Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL)—may seem as an undertaking with

minimal overlap, due to the inherited features of each discipline. However, it has been more than 25 years

since the following observation was made on these two disciplines (1): “There are more similarities between

subsea oil drilling and aerospace projects than differences.” Because of this, offshore technology has been

utilized and applied on NASA's projects, so it should be of no surprise of the offshore industry’s use of NASA’s

NBL.

Our staff members at Reaching Ultra (RU) have had the opportunity of experiencing—first hand—the

meshing of these two disciplines, by way of a member of our staff who attended a meeting held at the

laboratory’s meeting/conference room, and by other members of our staff who re-certified their water

survival and Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET) at this facility. The result: giving RU a thorough

experience of the multidimensional facility that caters to the offshore and aerospace industry.

Entering the FacilityOne of the first items to notice when awaiting admittance in to the laboratory is the multiple

signs posted in the receptionist area which

remind you that even though the facility can be

accessed by non-government personnel, the

building still contains an element of restriction.

In spite of such signs, their impact on your

experience greatly diminishes once allowed

entry in to the laboratory, as it is here where its

immensity becomes apparent (the pool itself

holds 6.2 million gallons). Once inside you

immediately notice the two part—awe striking

layout: with one side allotted to NASA specific

functions, which houses a replica space station

within the pool; while the other end isdesignated for offshore specific purposes.

__Figure 1: (Top) Shows the exterior of the NationalBuoyancy Laboratory; (Bottom) Illustrates entry point to the

laboratory

Space Station Layout

Viewing the aforementioned space station can be achieved by walking on the rim/edge of the pool, as

shown in Figure 2, or via the meeting/conference room that is over the pool’s center, see Figure 3. Of the two

options, the latter is highly advantageous, as it gives you a panoramic view of the submerged space station,

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and of the laboratory as a whole. Furthermore,

because the meeting/conference room's view

runs parallel with the pool, you can walk alongside

the submerged replica from above. This room is

equally equipped with monitors that are linked to

multiple, high resolution, underwater cameras,

allowing you to intimately view the work being

conducted at the underwater replica (The camera

arrangement is highly similar to those used in

Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) control rooms,

and dive shacks).Figure 2: Totalized view of the laboratory from the pool's

rim/edge

When RU's staff member attended the meeting/conference room, an astronaut was observed working

in conjunction with divers to carry out different tasks, in and around the underwater space station, see Figure

4. Upon RU's staff member noticing this, it is then that the purpose of the replica station, which serves as an

underwater simulation and training center for astronauts, became apparent to our staff member in terms of

their similarity to subsea simulations.

Figure 3: Replica space station in a wet setting, as viewed

from meeting/conference room

Figure 4: Topside cameras showing astronauts and divers

working in pool (Reference top screen)

From an offshore standpoint, the simulations carried out within the pool carry a similar function to Site

Integration Tests (SIT) and water trials, used for subsea equipment, which aims to: simulate the manner by

which subsea equipment integrates and interacts with other kits prior to being deployed offshore; ensure all

items of interest work optimally by replicating subsea conditions, layouts, and equipment arrangements; andto train all involved parties on what to expect prior to placing said equipment and kits offshore. Again, the two

distinctive fields once more managed to show their similarities, as they did 25 years ago.

Offshore Layout

As previously stated, the laboratory is partitioned in two, and it is at the non-space station side where the

water survival training and HUET courses are carried out. These courses are highly important—as they further

prepare future and existing offshore personnel on how to respond to anomalous scenarios when being



transported to location on a helicopter. More importantly, this training is required in order to work offshore,

and must be retaken periodically, to keep it from expiring. Because of this, members of our staff attended the

laboratory in order to keep their training up to date, giving them a first-hand experience of the mentally and

physically demanding helicopter simulator, which simulates emergency helicopter conditions. This is achieved

by having training participants completely submerged/dunked in to the pool while buckled in to the helicopter.

After this is completed all participants must then exist from the simulator. Overall, our staff had a positive

experience, which they credit to the laboratory's safety first approach and "can do" attitude.

ROV Focus

Though the members of our staff who re-certified their training did not have sufficient time to tour the

facility, our staff member that was there for non-training purposes was able to do so. Because of this, our staff

member was able to view a work class ROV that was staged behind the HUET training area. Having a work class

ROV at the laboratory truly demonstrated the laboratory's embrace of the offshore industry. At first glance,

however—the ROV can be mistaken for a mock up ROV, which are used for SITs (Such mock ups solely contain

a syntactic block, an exoskeleton, and dummy ROV arms, for example). But once the ROV was viewed up close,

there was no denying that it was indeed a work class ROV ready to be deployed in the pool space above.

Figure 5: Offshore workers being briefed prior to boarding

helicopter simulator Figure 6: Fully outfitted Work Class ROV in staging area next

to the offshore portion of facility

What adds another dynamic layer to the laboratory, is the fact that it does not only tailor to work class

ROV’s, but it also holds/hosts the forward thinking and innovative Marine Advance Technology Education

(MATE) center’s ROV competition that (2):

Uses…ROVs—to teach science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and prepare students for technical

careers… [The competition encourages] K-12, community college, and university students from all over the

world to design and build ROVs to tackle missions modeled after scenarios from the ocean workplace. The

[Mate competition] compliments the education pipeline by providing students with the opportunity to build

upon their skills…as they engineer increasingly more complex ROVs for increasingly more complex mission

tasks.

At Reaching Ultra we can attest to the impact the MATE competition has had on its active participants, as

we have worked with fellow engineers and technicians whose involvement in this competition directly resulted

in them pursuing a career in the offshore industry.



The Future and NBL

It is our belief that the National Buoyancy Laboratory is truly a cutting edge facility of the future that defies

all technological boundaries, while providing a highly interactive arena where individuals are given the

opportunity to experience, and further their passion for the offshore, and aerospace industry. For this reason,

we highly recommend that any direct and outlier participants of the aforementioned industries experience this

laboratory first-hand.

Works Cited1. Los Angeles times. [Online] Tribune Interactive, Inc., December 11, 1987. [Cited: May 1, 2014.]

http://articles.latimes.com/1987-12-11/business/fi-18982_1_oil-drilling-equipment.

2. Marine Advanced Technology Education. [Online] April 4, 2014. [Cited: May 1, 2014.]

http://www.marinetech.org/rov-competition/.

Documents

Oil Rigs on the Moon: Aerospace and Offshore Synergies