Boeing and University of Washington deny OceanGate's claim that they helped design the lost Titan sub
Boeing and the University of Washington are pushing back on Oceangate's claims that wrote the Titan was "designed and engineered by OceanGate Inc. in collaboration [with] experts from NASA, Boeing, and the University of Washington." OceanGate
OceanGate's Titan submersible has been missing since Sunday.
OceanGate claimed that Boeing, NASA, and the University of Washington helped design the Titan.
Two of those three entities have said they weren't involved
OceanGate, the company that built the Titan submersible that has been missing since Sunday, previously said that Boeing, NASA, and the University of Washington collaborated on the design for the vessel.
On the company's website, OceanGate wrote that the Titan was "designed and engineered by OceanGate Inc. in collaboration [with] experts from NASA, Boeing, and the University of Washington."
But two of those listed entities, Boeing and the University of Washington, are saying that's not true. NASA, which did consult on the design, is now clarifying what its invovement did and didn't entail.
In a statement sent to Insider, Boeing said the aircraft company was not involved with the development of OceanGate's Titan.
"Boeing was not a partner on the Titan and did not design or build it," a Boeing spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Insider. The spokesperson did not elaborate on any connection to OceanGate.
The University of Washington also released a statement saying that it wasn't involved in creating OceanGate's Titan submersible.
In a statement provided to CNN, University of Washington spokesperson Victor Balta said the university's Applied Physics Laboratory was not involved in the "design, engineering, or testing of the Titan submersible."
Balta said that the university's laboratory had previously signed a $5 million agreement for collaborating on research with OceanGate. But the collaboration resulted in a "steel-hulled vessel, named the Cyclops 1," not the design for the Titan submersible.
The two organizations parted ways, Balta told CNN, after just $650,000 of work had been completed.
The Cyclops 1 is another submersible vessel model that OceanGate has advertised on its website. The Cyclops model can travel to 1,640 feet — much shallower than the Titan's over 13,000 feet claim — and "served as a fully functioning prototype throughout the development of Titan," according to OceanGate's website.
OceanGate performed test tanks at the University of Washington's School of Oceanography, Balta told CNN. Balta added that "UW personnel did not provide any verification or validation of any OceanGate equipment as a result of those tests," Balta added.
The University of Washington did not respond in time to a request for comment from Insider ahead of publication.
NASA did previously consult on the Titan submersible with OceanGate. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center had a Space Act Agreement with OceanGate, Lance D. Davis, acting news chief for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center said in a statement sent to Insider. A Space Act Agreement allows NASA to work with any organizations that "meet wide-ranging NASA missions and program requirements and objectives," according to information about the policy on NASA's website.
"We regret to hear the Titan submersible is missing, and we remain hopeful the crew will be found unharmed," Davis wrote in a statement to Insider. "NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center had a Space Act Agreement with OceanGate and consulted on materials and manufacturing processes for the submersible. NASA did not conduct testing and manufacturing via its workforce or facilities, which were done elsewhere by OceanGate."
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Davis said that NASA's Marshall center also provided "consultation for materials and manufacturing processes based on industry standards" to OceanGate.
"We did not provide any approvals for the project as OceanGate was the technical authority," Davis wrote.
An OceanGate spokesperson did not respond to Insider's request for comment and questions about the company's claims of working with Boeing, the University of Washington, and NASA ahead of publication.
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