# THE DEEP FRONTIER U.S. NAVY OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE 1960s AQUANOTS 79134

“The Deep Frontier” is an episode in the CBS News series 21st Century from 1968, that surveys exploration of the ocean floor. It utilizes U.S. Navy footage throughout. The film opens with divers in the deep sea, before cutting to an interview with oceanographer Harris Stewart ( 01:51 ). The film discusses the technological advances in ocean exploration, enabling potential study of deep trenches and the bottom of the continental slope ( 03:39 ). Oceanographers use FLIP (Floating Instrument Platform) to explore the ocean ( 04:05 ): FLIP drops 300 feet below the surface, giving scientists an underwater laboratory. However, to truly explore the depths, man must use specialized submarines. The Aluminaut is 3-man sub that drives over the sea floor ( 05:35 ), giving scientists unique views and allowing the crew to drill into the sea floor to take samples. A robot submarine ( 06:38 ) named CURV (Cable-controlled Underwater Recovery Vehicle) provides video of the ocean bottom in addition to retrieving sunken items, such as an H-bomb that is recovered off the coast of Spain or a torpedo ( 07:02 ). M. Scott Carpenter, the only U.S. astronaut/aquanaut ( 07:29 ), goes to Sea Lab 2 off of the California coast to test how long man can live and work in the sea. Sea Lab 2 is an underwater steel shell. Saturation living allows Carpenter and other crewmembers to live at the bottom of the sea and conduct tests under great pressure. Aquanauts use technology for their work, but not…

- Kind: Film
- Genres: Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/79134TheDeepFrontier)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/79134TheDeepFrontier?play=1)