February 3, 2000 -- Washington, DC -- Phoenix International, Inc., (Phoenix) today announced the successful completion of a mission to recover critical pieces of a Japanese H-II missile lost in the Pacific Ocean. The missile parts were recovered using Phoenix International’s Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Remora 6000.

The H-II missile, designated as Launch Vehicle No. 8 by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), was destructed shortly after launch from the Tanegashima Space Center on November 15, 1999 when the first stage main engine suddenly ceased functioning.  The recovery of selected components was essential to an investigation into the cause of the main engine failure.

The missile debris was located by Japan Marine Science and Technology Center (JAMSTEC) using a towed side scan sonar system. Phoenix was contracted by Shin Nippon Kaiji Co., Ltd. (SNK), a Japanese marine services company, to provide Remora 6000 to perform the recovery. SNK supplied the salvage vessel SHIN NICHI MARU to support the operation.

Remora 6000, specifically designed for rapid response capability, was air freighted from Phoenix International’s operations facility in Solomons Island, MD to Yokosuka, Japan and installed aboard the support vessel. Following completion of a series of test dives, the recovery team transited to the site. After waiting two and a half days for 20 foot seas to subside, Remora made three dives over the next four days in water depths of 9,700 feet and successfully recovered the first stage main engine assembly, the nozzle skirt, and the liquid oxygen pump assembly. Each piece, the largest of which weighed almost 2,500 pounds, was rigged for recovery using Remora’s dual manipulators and brought to the surface by the ROV.

Remora 6000 is a 25 horsepower ROV capable of performing search, inspection, and recovery tasks in water depths to 20,000 feet. Remora’s design is optimized for maximum power and maneuverability in tight spaces, and the entire system was configured for rapid response via air, land, or sea. In 1999, Remora successfully identified and documented the wreckage of INS DAKAR, an Israeli submarine lost in the Mediterranean Sea for 31 years in 9,600 fsw.

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