A scuba diver stands by as the unmanned Max Rover submersible goes down to insert a Diver Operated Plug.

A scuba diver stands by as the unmanned Max Rover submersible goes down to insert a Diver Operated Plug (DOP) into an aft nozzle like the ones used on the Space Shuttle's solid rocket boosters (SRBs). NASA and contractor Deep Sea Systems demonstrated the submersible at Port Canaveral's Trident pier. Kennedy Space Center's SRB retrieval team and Advanced Systems Development laboratory staff hope that the new robotic technology will make the process of inserting the plug into spent SRBs safer and less strenuous. Currently, scuba divers manually insert the DOP into the aft nozzle of a jettisoned SRB 60 to 70 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. After the plug is installed, water is pumped out of the booster allowing it to float horizontally. It is then towed back to Hangar AF at Cape Canaveral Air Station for refurbishment. Deep Sea Systems of Falmouth, Mass., built the submersible for NASA