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Fig. 1: The control unit ready for deployment. (Photo: Gereon Budéus, AWI)

The quadruple helix contains the 400 weight spheres.
In the foreground the weight-ball guide-pipe with the retardation cascade can be seen.

Fig. 2: Completely mounted vehicle. (Photo: Gereon Budéus, AWI)

In the foreground you can see the CTD (Sea-Bird-Electronics SBE19+), in the background the bouyancy-module. At the rear end the basket carrying the weight sphere is visible and on top the rod to release the weight when the ocen bottom is reached.

Fig. 3: Weight sphere collector basket, net and the spring-loaded stop plate. (Photo: Gereon Budéus, AWI)

Fig. 4: Mooring ground weight and pair of releasers. (Photo: Gereon Budéus, AWI)

Fig. 5: Ground weight, pair of releasers and weight sphere collector unit below the ship's A-frame. (Photo: Gereon Budéus, AWI)

Fig. 6: Ground weight on it's way into the ocean. (Photo: Gereon Budéus, AWI)

Fig. 7: Weight sphere collector unit and impact plate following the ground weight. (Photo: Gereon Budéus, AWI)

Fig. 8: The 'treasure chest': Energy for 400 times of 4000 m profiling. (Photo: Gereon Budéus, AWI)

Fig. 9: The control unit ready for deployment. The weight-sphere guide-pipe is going to be fixed to the rope. (Photo: Gereon Budéus, AWI)

Fig. 10: The vehicle is fixed at the rope and weight loaded, ready for the first launch. (Photo: Gereon Budéus, AWI)

Fig. 11: The control unit during shackling into the mooring.
In the foreground two buoyancy spheres. (Photo: Gereon Budéus, AWI)

Fig. 12: General view of the Vehicles. (Photo: Gereon Budéus, AWI)