Craig B. Cooper

Last updated

Craig Cooper
Jsc2006e30801 Nyberg suits up for NEEMO EVA.jpg
Right to left: Karen L. Nyberg, Roger Garcia, and Craig B. Cooper, preparing for a NEEMO mission at Key Largo, 2006.
Born (1949-09-08) September 8, 1949 (age 75)
Nationality American
EducationB.S., Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Occupation(s) Commercial diver, aquanaut

Craig B. Cooper [1] (born September 8, 1949) is a professional aquanaut from the United States who served from 1991 to 2010 as Operations Manager for the Aquarius Reef Base underwater habitat. [2] [3] [4] Cooper is known to fellow divers by the nickname "Coop". [5]

Contents

Education and professional diving career

Cooper began scuba diving for recreation in 1964. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. During and after college he conducted fisheries research with the Virginia Cooperative Fishery Unit, New Jersey Fish and Game and the U.S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. [3]

In 1973 Cooper graduated from the Ocean Corporation, a commercial diving school. He then worked for Taylor Diving & Salvage for eleven years as a commercial diver in many different parts of the world. His work included air, mixed gas, and saturation diving. He also gained experience with welding habitats. [3] Cooper was diving near the Ixtoc oil platform when it exploded in 1979, killing a friend of his. [6] Cooper subsequently worked with oil well firefighter Red Adair during the efforts to contain the Ixtoc I oil spill. [7]

In 1984 Cooper joined the North Carolina Department of Transportation as an underwater bridge inspector. This work soon evolved to include underwater bridge construction of concrete piles and foundations. The University of North Carolina Wilmington contacted Cooper in December 1990 after acquiring the Aquarius underwater laboratory. In January 1991 Cooper began managing the refurbishment of Aquarius in drydock prior to its deployment at its present site in the Florida Keys in 1993. [3]

Aquarius

As Operations Manager at Aquarius for the National Undersea Research Center (NURC), Cooper supervised the daily activities of the underwater habitat. He also served as Coast Guard-licensed Captain, Diving Medical Technician, and habitat technician during missions aboard Aquarius. [8] [9] Cooper commented of the scientists participating in a June 1995 marine biology mission aboard Aquarius, "In many ways this is like a space mission... We need to keep a close eye on them to make sure everything's okay." [10]

During Hurricane Gordon in 1994, Cooper helped rescue a crew of scientists and divers who had to evacuate Aquarius and climb up a rescue line to the surface in 15-foot seas after one of the habitat's generators caught fire. [2] [6] As of 2008, no scientists or staff members had been injured at Aquarius due to storms. [2]

In July 2004, Cooper took part as a habitat technician in the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 6 (NEEMO 6) mission, one of a series of NASA-NOAA missions which use Aquarius as an analog environment for space exploration. The NEEMO 6 crew lived and worked underwater aboard Aquarius for ten days. [11] [12] [13] In April 2005, Cooper served as a habitat technician during the NEEMO 8 mission, the crew of which lived underwater for three days. [14] [15]

Other missions aboard Aquarius in which Cooper has participated include a June 2006 mission with the U.S. Navy Specialized Research Diving Detachment (SRDD) during which NURC divers investigated the possibility of using rebreathers during excursions from Aquarius. [16] During the investigation of the death of Aquarius aquanaut Dewey Smith in 2009, the panel of outside experts asked Cooper to organize a test in which the hydraulic hammer in use near Smith at the time of his fatal accident was again used underwater in the vicinity of an Inspiration closed circuit rebreather (CCR) similar to the one Smith had been using. [17]

Cooper is a friend of SEALAB aquanaut Bob Barth, whom he regards as a mentor. [18] [19] In 2003, Cooper, Barth, U.S. Navy Supervisor of Diving Captain Mark Helmkamp and NOAA Captain Craig McLean organized a partnership allowing Navy divers to take part in Aquarius saturation diving missions. [20] In a blog entry written in 1999, Cooper wrote of his fellow Aquarius topside personnel and habitat technicians, "If the scientists are the astronauts, these guys are the junior Bob Barths." [21]

After leaving the Operations Manager position in 2009, Cooper continued serving with Aquarius in his capacities as diver, medical technician and habitat technician, as well as working on program development and collaborations with other agencies. [3] In March 2010, Cooper retired as Operations Director of Aquarius. [7] [22] At Cooper's retirement ceremony, Barth commented, "You're the only one, don't be the last!" [23] Cooper subsequently joined the team of retired University of Connecticut professor Richard A. Cooper, who hopes to build an undersea lab called SeaBase 1 in the Belize Barrier Reef. [24]

Personal life

Cooper has raised Arabian show horses and Friesian draft horses with his wife, Kathleen, at their farm in Wake Forest, North Carolina. [3] [8]

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael L. Gernhardt</span> NASA astronaut and manager of Environmental Physiology Laboratory (born 1956)

Michael Landon Gernhardt is a NASA astronaut and manager of the Environmental Physiology Laboratory, and principal investigator of the Prebreathe Reduction Program (PRP) at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquarius Reef Base</span> Underwater habitat off Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

The Aquarius Reef Base is an underwater habitat located 5.4 mi (8.7 km) off Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Florida, United States. It is the world's only undersea research laboratory and it is operated by Florida International University. It is deployed on the ocean floor 62 ft (19 m) below the surface and next to a deep coral reef named Conch Reef.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SEALAB</span> Experimental underwater habitats developed by the United States Navy

SEALAB I, II, and III were experimental underwater habitats developed and deployed by the United States Navy during the 1960s to prove the viability of saturation diving and humans living in isolation for extended periods of time. The knowledge gained from the SEALAB expeditions helped advance the science of deep sea diving and rescue, and contributed to the understanding of the psychological and physiological strains humans can endure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underwater habitat</span> Human habitable underwater enclosure filled with breathable gas

Underwater habitats are underwater structures in which people can live for extended periods and carry out most of the basic human functions of a 24-hour day, such as working, resting, eating, attending to personal hygiene, and sleeping. In this context, 'habitat' is generally used in a narrow sense to mean the interior and immediate exterior of the structure and its fixtures, but not its surrounding marine environment. Most early underwater habitats lacked regenerative systems for air, water, food, electricity, and other resources. However, some underwater habitats allow for these resources to be delivered using pipes, or generated within the habitat, rather than manually delivered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquanaut</span> Diver who remains at depth underwater for longer than 24 hours

An aquanaut is any person who remains underwater, breathing at the ambient pressure for long enough for the concentration of the inert components of the breathing gas dissolved in the body tissues to reach equilibrium, in a state known as saturation. Usually this is done in an underwater habitat on the seafloor for a period equal to or greater than 24 continuous hours without returning to the surface. The term is often restricted to scientists and academics, though there were a group of military aquanauts during the SEALAB program. Commercial divers in similar circumstances are referred to as saturation divers. An aquanaut is distinct from a submariner, in that a submariner is confined to a moving underwater vehicle such as a submarine that holds the water pressure out. Aquanaut derives from the Latin word aqua ("water") plus the Greek nautes ("sailor"), by analogy to the similar construction "astronaut". The first human aquanaut was Robert Sténuit, who spent 24 hours on board a tiny one-man cylinder at 200 feet (61 m) in September 1962 off Villefranche-sur-Mer on the French Riviera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NEEMO</span> NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operation project

NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO, is a NASA analog mission that sends groups of astronauts, engineers and scientists to live in the Aquarius underwater laboratory, the world's only undersea research station, for up to three weeks at a time in preparation for future space exploration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Abercromby</span> Biomedical engineer from Scotland working for NASA

Dr. Andrew Frank Jorgensen Abercromby is a scientist and biomedical engineer who designs and tests spacesuit systems and exercise countermeasures for future exploration of the Solar System. He is employed by NASA as Lead of the Human Physiology, Performance, Protection & Operations (H-3PO) Laboratory at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. As an aquanaut, Abercromby served as a member of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 14 crew. Abercromby has more than fifteen years of experience working in the Human Health and Performance (HH&P) and Engineering Directorates at the Johnson Space Center. He is married with two daughters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Chappell</span> American aerospace engineer

Steven Patrick Chappell is an American aerospace engineer. He is a Technical Lead & Research Specialist for Wyle Integrated Science & Engineering at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. He is helping to define and execute the research needed to optimize human performance in next-generation spacesuits and extra-vehicular activity (EVA) systems. Chappell served as an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 14 crew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Todd</span> Project Manager for Exploration Analogs at NASAs Johnson Space Center

William Laurence Todd is a Project Manager for Exploration Analogs at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. He has also served as a NASA Undersea Research Team Project Lead and Spaceflight Training Simulation Supervisor at NASA JSC. Todd is a veteran Aquanaut of 5 missions. In 2001, he commanded the first NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) mission, a joint NASA-NOAA program to study human survival in the Aquarius underwater laboratory in preparation for future space exploration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig McKinley (physician)</span> Canadian physician and aquanaut

Craig Anthony McKinley was a Canadian physician. On February 28, 2003, McKinley participated in the world's first telerobotic-assisted surgery, conducted at two hospitals separated by 400 kilometres. He later served as an aquanaut on the joint NASA-NOAA NEEMO 7 underwater exploration mission in October 2004, where he and other aquanauts tested remote health care procedures with potential application for space travel. McKinley experienced problems with alcohol and faced legal difficulties beginning in 2009. He lost his hospital privileges in 2011 and died in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Reagan</span> American Station Training Lead in Mission Operations at NASAs Johnson Space Center

Marcum "Marc" Reagan is a Station Training Lead in Mission Operations at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He leads a team of instructors who together are responsible for developing and executing complex simulations for International Space Station (ISS) assembly and operations. Reagan also serves as an ISS "Capcom" from Mission Control, communicating with ISS astronauts in orbit. In May 2002, Reagan served as an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 2 crew. He subsequently served as Mission Director for multiple NEEMO missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Dory</span> Human Systems Integration Lead at NASAs Johnson Space Center

Jonathan Robert Dory is a Human Systems Integration Lead at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. He is Branch Chief of NASA's Habitability and Human Factors Branch, part of the Habitability and Environmental Factors Division at NASA/JSC. Dory supports crew safety and productivity on the International Space Station (ISS) Program by planning and assessing the on-orbit interior configuration of ISS, as well as performing anthropometric analysis of crew tasks. He contributes to the integrated operation of the Space Station while using 3D computer graphics and animation software as part of his daily work. In July 2002, Dory served as an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 3 crew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tara Ruttley</span> Associate Chief Scientist for Microgravity Research at NASA Headquarters

Tara Melaine Ruttley is Associate Chief Scientist for Microgravity Research at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Prior to this, she was Associate Program Scientist for the International Space Station (ISS) at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Until 2007, she was lead hardware engineer for the ISS Health Maintenance System, leading a team of engineers whose job was to provide reliable medical equipment that kept astronauts healthy in orbit. She subsequently served as the lead hardware engineer for the ISS Human Research Facility. She served as an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 6 crew in July 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen Kohanowich</span> American aquanaut and ex US Navy diver

Karen Kohanowich is a retired U.S. Naval officer and ocean research and technology program manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER). She was NOAA's Acting Director of the National Undersea Research Program (NURP) from 2006 to 2009, and served in various roles at OER, including Acting Deputy and Undersea Technology director, until retiring in 2018. In July 2006, she became an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 10 crew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dewey Smith</span> American aquanaut. Died in diving accident.

Dewey Dewayne Smith was an underwater diver, former United States Navy medic and professional aquanaut. He died during a dive from the Aquarius underwater habitat off Key Largo in May 2009. A subsequent investigation determined that multiple factors combined to cause the accident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Talacek</span> American professional aquanaut

James Raymond Talacek is an American professional aquanaut with the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). He serves as Oceanographic Field Operations Manager at Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only undersea research laboratory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominic Landucci</span> American professional aquanaut and Network Analyst at the NOAA Aquarius Reef Base

Dominic Landucci is an American professional aquanaut with the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). He served as the Network Analyst at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only undersea research laboratory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Hulsbeck</span> American professional aquanaut

Mark Whitney Hulsbeck is an American professional aquanaut. He serves as an Oceanographic Operations Field Manager and research diver for the Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only undersea research laboratory, operated by Florida International University. Hulsbeck is nicknamed "Otter".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Brown (aquanaut)</span> American professional aquanaut and habitat technician

Justin Brown is an American professional aquanaut with the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). He serves as a habitat technician at Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only undersea research laboratory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Morgan Wells</span> Physiologist, aquanaut and researcher (1940–2017)

John Morgan Wells was a marine biologist, and physiologist involved in the development of decompression systems for deep diving, and the use of nitrox as a breathing gas for diving. He is known for developing the widely used NOAA Nitrox I and II mixtures and their decompression tables in the late 1970s, the deep diving mixture of oxygen, helium, and nitrogen known as NOAA Trimix I, for research in undersea habitats, where divers live and work under pressure for extended periods, and for training diving physicians and medical technicians in hyperbaric medicine.

References

  1. ↑ Shepard, Andrew N.; Dinsmore, David A.; Miller, Steven L.; Cooper, Craig B.; Wicklund, Robert I. (1996). Lang, MA; Baldwin, CC (eds.). "Aquarius Undersea Laboratory: The Next Generation". The Diving for Science…1996, "Methods and Techniques of Underwater Research". Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (Sixteenth Annual Scientific Diving Symposium): 205–212. Archived from the original on March 6, 2010. Retrieved February 29, 2012.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. 1 2 3 Prager, Ellen J. (2008). Chasing Science at Sea: Racing Hurricanes, Stalking Sharks, & Living Undersea With Ocean Experts. Chicago, London: The University of Chicago Press. pp. 118–120. ISBN   978-0-226-67870-2.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cooper, Craig (2009). "Craig Cooper Bio". Cambrian Foundation. Archived from the original on April 14, 2013. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  4. ↑ Hellwarth, Ben (2012). Sealab: America's Forgotten Quest to Live and Work on the Ocean Floor. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 372. ISBN   978-0-7432-4745-0. LCCN   2011015725.
  5. ↑ Hutchens, Michael (August 14, 1999). "Aquarius - Journal 9". University of North Carolina Wilmington. Archived from the original on December 11, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Helvarg, David (March 20, 2011). "Health Library Articles". HealthDay . Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  7. 1 2 Hill, R. J. (January 27, 2011). "Diver builds bridge between land and sea". The Wake Weekly . Allen Publishing LLC. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  8. 1 2 Cooper, Craig (August 1999). "Aquarius - Craig Cooper". University of North Carolina Wilmington. Archived from the original on December 10, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  9. ↑ Sanctuaries Web Team (September 26, 2007). "If Reefs Could Talk - Aquarius 2007". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  10. ↑ Lipkin, Richard (September 16, 1995). "Sight in the sea: exploring light and color in tropical reef ecosystems". Science News . doi:10.2307/3979305. JSTOR   3979305 . Retrieved February 26, 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  11. ↑ Malik, Tariq (July 18, 2004). "Astronauts plunge into ocean to test new tools". Space.com . Retrieved February 29, 2012.[ dead link ]
  12. ↑ Cooper, Craig (July 21, 2004). "Mission Blog - Mission & Project Info - NOAA's Aquarius Undersea Laboratory - Mission Journal 14 — Craig Cooper: Day 10: Tuesday, July 21st, 2004". National Undersea Research Center. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
  13. ↑ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (September 6, 2011). "Life Sciences Data Archive : Experiment". NASA. Archived from the original on April 5, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
  14. ↑ NOAA (May 18, 2010). "NEEMO 8". University of North Carolina Wilmington. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
  15. ↑ NASA (April 21, 2011). "Life Sciences Data Archive : Experiment". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  16. ↑ Talacek, James (June 10, 2006). "James Talacek: Mission Day 5: Saturday, June 10th, 2006". NURC. Archived from the original on February 22, 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  17. ↑ "External Review Board Report of Findings and Recommendations" (PDF). American Academy of Underwater Sciences. August 27, 2009. p. 5. Retrieved July 16, 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  18. ↑ Cooper, Craig (July 22, 2003). "Mission Blog - Mission & Project Info - NOAA's Aquarius Undersea Laboratory - Mission Journal 10 — Craig Cooper: Day 9: Tuesday, July 22nd, 2003". National Undersea Research Center. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
  19. ↑ Cooper, Craig B. (February 23–24, 2006). Lang, Michael A.; Smith, N. Eugene (eds.). "Underwater Habitats at 300 FSW: A Thing of the Past, Or Still Viable Today?" (PDF). Proceedings of Advanced Scientific Diving Workshop. Smithsonian Institution: 166–170. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  20. ↑ Rubin, Glenn (February 2005). "Navy Divers Find a New Dive Buddy" (PDF). Faceplate. 9 (1): 16–17. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  21. ↑ Cooper, Craig (August 13, 1999). "Aquarius - Journal 5". University of North Carolina Wilmington. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
  22. ↑ Clark, Cammy (February 26, 2010). "Time to decompress for good". The Miami Herald ., cited in "Key Largo underwater research lab director to retire - McClatchy". The McClatchy Company. February 26, 2010. Archived from the original on April 8, 2010. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  23. ↑ Brown, Justin (July 2011). "Your The Only One, Dont Be The Last!". National Undersea Research Center. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  24. ↑ Marteka, Peter (June 1, 2010). "Retired UConn Maritime Professor Dreams Of Undersea Research Facility". Hartford Courant . Retrieved February 28, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.