Redwing Glider Successfully Launched in Global Ocean Mission

Teledyne Marine has successfully launched the Slocum Sentinel glider, ‘Redwing’, into the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday, Oct. 11, approximately 43 miles southeast of Woods Hole, Mass. The launch, which is a collaboration with Rutgers University, took place aboard the Ocean Researcher, a 41-foot research vessel under clear skies and one- to three-foot seas.

The Teledyne Marine team on board included Shea Quinn, Sentinel Mission Project Lead; Cordie Goodrich, Sentinel Mission Lead Pilot; and Sal Fricano, Glider Applications Engineer and Pilot.

Redwing is embarking on the five-year Sentinel Mission, where it will become the first autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to circumnavigate the globe.

Redwing’s journey will take it across the Gulf Stream towards Europe, then south to Gran Canaria, onward to Cape Town, across the Indian Ocean to Australia and New Zealand, through the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, and eventually back to the Atlantic via the Falkland Islands, Brazil, and the Caribbean.

The mission is a collaboration between Teledyne Marine and Rutgers University. Engineers from Teledyne, alongside more than 50 students from Rutgers University - who have been instrumental in developing flight tools and navigation software - will work in unison to help track and keep Redwing on its time critical flight path. A combined mission control will be split between Teledyne and the Center of Ocean Observing Leadership (COOL) room at Rutgers, where data will be analyzed throughout the five-year mission.

The mission aims to revolutionize ocean data collection, improve weather forecasting and our understanding of the causes of extreme weather events, and inspire the next generation of ocean scientists and engineers.

The Sentinel Mission’s progress will be updated on www.teledynemarine.com/sentinelmission and can be followed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sentinel_mission