China's submersible Jiaolong reaches 5,057 meters

[Guest]

China's submersible Jiaolong reaches 5,057 meters
Updated: 2011-07-26 16:19
(Xinhua)
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/photo/2011 ... 987010.htm

Video image taken from a TV channel on July 26, 2011 shows crew members showing China's national flag after a successful dive. The hatch of the Jiaolong, a Chinese manned submersible, opened at 10]

[tom dougherty]

Re: China's submersible Jiaolong reaches 5,057 meters

Chinese scientists aim to complete the world's deepest dive in a manned submersible in 2012 by going to 7,000 metres (22,966 ft) beneath the sea after a successful test dive in the Pacific Ocean.

The Jiaolong, named after a mythical Chinese sea dragon, reached 5,057 metres, its lowest-ever depth, in a dive in international waters in the Pacific in the early hours of Tuesday, Xinhua state news agency said.

"Such a depth means the Jiaolong is capable of reaching over 70% of the seabeds in the world," it quoted the head of the diving operation, Wang Fei, as saying. "It will pave the way for a record-breaking 7,000-metre test dive in 2012."

The current record holder is Japan's Shinkai 6500, which dived to 6,527 metres in August 1989.

Ummm, last time I checked, the Trieste went to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in 1960 to 10,911 meters (35,797 ft), carrying Jacques Piccard and U.S. Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh.

Are we rewriting history here???