MARSKEEL POWERS SAILDRONE’S HISTORIC TRANSATLANTIC VOYAGE
Dec 10, 2019
Saildrone (SD 1021), the world’s first unmanned surface vessel (USV), made use of MarsKeel’s unique lead ballast system to complete its record-breaking 3,402-nautical mile transatlantic voyage.
Saildrone Completes Fastest Atlantic Crossing by Unmanned Vehicle
After suffering damage in a Gulf Stream storm, SD 1021 received a new wing in Bermuda and set out for the Solent on a mission to complete the fastest unmanned Atlantic crossing.
Saildrone’s Mission
The drone is armed with an array of custom sensors, and real-time data is transmitted via satellite for analysis with the researcher in constant control of the mission. Missions have included oceanography and climate studies, fish stock analysis, and environmental monitoring.
Saildrones are not single-mission vehicles. They are designed for multiple deployments over their long lifespan. They may survey Alaska pollock in the Bering Sea and then track great white sharks across the Pacific Ocean. Or, after measuring carbon in the Chukchi Sea, they may head to the Southern Ocean to complete the first autonomous circumnavigation of Antarctica.
On its third mission, SD 1021 completed Saildrone’s first Atlantic crossing, sailing from Bermuda to the Solent in just 75 days.
Learn more at https://www.saildrone.com/news/saildrone-completes-fastest-atlantic-crossing-unmanned-vehicle
