Apollo 11

The astronauts sleep, awaken, and pass the midway point, at 101,000 nautical miles from both Earth and Moon. They conduct their last color TV transmission to an admiring world and sleep again.

PX-15

The Franklin has been cruising between 1300 and 1800 feet, just off the bottom for 24 hours, all the time taking stereo photographs of the bottom for the U.S. Navy Oceanographic Office. The crew is exhausted from the necessary intense concentration on bottom- keeping and looking out for hazards and obstacles that might threaten the sub. They observe and photograph giant coral heads, and the sub has to ascend quickly from time to time to avoid collisions. They observe abundant marine life, including enormous numbers of squid.

Skipper Kazimir reports difficulty in holding the sub’s position just off the bottom. He’s encountering powerful internal waves in the Gulf Stream that want to push the sub upward. Again, the engines are engaged to stabilize the Franklin so the photographic mission to the bottom can be completed.

Temperatures inside the submersible have hovered near the 53 degree mark and humidity has increased substantially in the closed environment. 550 lbs of silica gel are deployed to absorb the excess moisture. The crew is in good spirits but worn out from standing watch for the 24 hours of bottom-skimming for the photographic mission.

Late in the morning, the photographic mission completed, the Franklin is 70 miles off Charleston, South Carolina and ascends to 750 feet. The crew reports fantastic sea life.

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