--- title: "NASA Insists It Didn’t Do Much Work on the Titanic Sub That Imploded, Killing Its Crew" description: "Submersive Distancing As the US government works to get to the bottom of last summer's Titan submersible tragedy, NASA wants the record to reflect that it mostly wasn't the agency's fault. During public testimony before the US Coast Guard this week, per ABC News, NASA materials engineer Justin Jackson said that although the agency was originally […]" date: "2024-09-28" modified: "2024-09-28" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-distances-oceangate-titanic-sub" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "NASA" - "oceangate" - "the digest" - "tragedy" --- # NASA Insists It Didn’t Do Much Work on the Titanic Sub That Imploded, Killing Its Crew ![As the US government works to get to the bottom of last summer's Titan submersible tragedy, NASA says it mostly wasn't the agency's fault. ]() *\Image: US Coast Guard\* ## Submersive Distancing As the US government [works to get to the bottom]() of last summer's [Titan submersible tragedy](), NASA wants the record to reflect that it *mostly* wasn't the agency's fault. During public testimony before the US Coast Guard this week, [per *ABC News*](), NASA materials engineer Justin Jackson said that although the agency was originally slated to do more work on the [imploded OceanGate submersible](), those plans never fully came to fruition. Those plans, Jackson explained, dated back to early 2020 when OceanGate's then-CEO reached out to the agency to build a composite hull for the seacraft slated to explore the ruins of the original Titanic shipwreck. A contract under the Reimbursable Space Act Agreement was signed, but ultimately NASA wasn't able to build the hull due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, NASA only ended up doing remote consultation on a mockup of the submersible, but cooperation between the agency and OceanGate broke down in 2021 over marketing disagreements. ## Fake Collab As [*ABC News* reported]() last summer, the agency was opposed to OceanGate saying on its marketing materials that the Titan sub had been "designed... in collaboration \[with\] experts from NASA." "It was the language they were using was getting too close to us endorsing," Jackson told military investigators. "So it was, our folks had some heartburn with the endorsement level of it." Ultimately, it seems that refusal to co-sign was pretty prescient. Prior to its tragic final launch, company [CEO Stockton Rush]() — who [died along with four others]() when the Titan imploded under the weight of the ocean — [told *CBS* in 2022]() that that seemingly exaggerated collab made the whole endeavor safe. "The pressure vessel is not MacGyvered at all because that's where we worked with Boeing and NASA, \[and\] University of Washington," Rush told *CBS* reporter David Pogue. "Everything else can fail. Your thrusters can go, your lights can go. You're still going to be safe." Obviously, those assurances were empty in the end — and NASA, along with an [embattled Boeing](), [wants none of that heat](). **More on the Titan:** [*Doomed Titanic Sub's Hull Made Terrible Sound During Previous Dive*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()