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China's manned sub to try 5,000-meter dive

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-05-20 14:48

BEIJING - The Jiaolong, China's manned deep-diving submersible, will attempt a 5,000-meter dive in July following last year's successful 3,759-meter dive, a senior official said Friday.

This file photo shows a submersible under construction at an undisclosed location. [File/China Daily]

Liu Cigui, head of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), said the Ministry of Science and Technology and the SOA will choose an appropriate area for the manned dive.

The Jiaolong, designed to reach a depth of 7,000 meters, completed 17 dives in the South China Sea from May 31 to July 18 last year, with the deepest reaching 3,759 meters with three crew members on board.

It makes China the fifth country, following the United States, France, Russia and Japan, to have the technology to send a manned dive over 3,500 meters below sea level.

Liu revealed the plans for the 5,000-meter dive during a symposium on oceanic development in Beijing on Friday.

He also said China will launch its second marine remote sensing satellite, HY-2, at an appropriate time this year.

The Jiaolong vessel is the world's first manned vehicle designed to reach 7,000 meters below sea level and it can used in 99.8 percent of the world's sea areas, according to Xu Qinan, the vehicle's chief designer.