August 21, 1965 Final preparations are underway aboard the staging vessel Berkone off Scripps Pier in La Jolla for the launching of Sealab Two. The underwater experiment is expected to start this Monday. The U-shaped staging vessel is basically two barges joined together by a well in which will be cradled the experimental diving bell before it begins its descent to the bottom of the sea. Present plans call for SeaLab Two to spend 45 days on the floor of the sea as the home for three teams of aquanauts—ten men at a time. Team members will remain submerged for 15 days except for team captain Scott Carpenter who might stay under for a thirty-day period. Carpenter, a space pilot, will the first to gain title to an exploration at the other extreme—the bottom of the sea. TV 8 talked to him about the planned telephone link between SeaLab and the Gemini Five astronauts. Wikipedia: SEALAB II was launched in 1965.[3] It was nearly twice as large as SEALAB I with heating coils installed in the deck to ward off the constant helium-induced chill, and air conditioning to reduce the oppressive humidity. Facilities included hot showers, a built-in toilet, laboratory equipment, eleven viewing ports, two exits, and refrigeration. It was placed in the La Jolla Canyon off the coast of Scripps Institution of Oceanography/UCSD, in La Jolla, California, at a depth of 205 feet (62 m). On August 28, 1965, the first of three teams of divers moved into what became known as the "Tilton Hilton" (Tiltin' Hilton, because of the slope of the landing site). The support ship Berkone hovered on the surface above, within sight of the Scripps pier. Helium diffused through glass ruining watches and electronic instruments. The helium atmosphere conducted heat away from the divers bodies so quickly temperatures were raised to 30 °C (86 °F) to ward off chill.[2] Each team spent 15 days in the habitat, but aquanaut/former astronaut Scott Carpenter remained below for a record 30 days. In addition to physiological testing, the 28 divers tested new tools, methods of salvage, and an electrically heated drysuit.[8][9] They were aided by a bottlenose dolphin named Tuffy from the United States Navy Marine Mammal Program. Aquanauts and Navy trainers attempted, with mixed results, to teach Tuffy to ferry supplies from the surface to SEALAB or from one diver to another, and to come to the rescue of an aquanaut in distress.[10][11][12] When the SEALAB II mission ended on 10 October 1965, there were plans for Tuffy also to take part in SEALAB III.[13][14] A sidenote from SEALAB II was a congratulatory telephone call that was arranged for Carpenter and President Lyndon B. Johnson. Carpenter was calling from a decompression chamber with helium gas replacing nitrogen, so Carpenter sounded unintelligible to operators.[15] The tape of the call circulated for years[when?] among Navy divers[who?] before it was aired on National Public Radio in 1999.[16][17] In 2002, a group of researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography's High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network boarded the MV Kellie Chouest and used a Scorpio ROV to find the site of the SEALAB habitat.[18] This expedition was the first return to the site since the habitat was moved.[18]