On July 20, 2015, key members of the Heard Island team met with staff at HDT Global to discuss the tent shelters and make final design decisions. HDT supplies a wide variety of shelters and other equipment to military customers worldwide, and has agreed to partner with the Heard Island project as a demonstration and evaluation activity. At their factory in Buena Vista, VA, the company showed us a variety of their AirBeam tents in various configuraitons. These tents offer major advantages for the Heard Island expedition: very rapid erection (15 minutes), high wind load capability, large inside open space, and simple 4-point anchoring. Their intrinsic modularity enabled us to set the optimum design for the main camp at Atlas Cove (see drawing above). Details about the facility will be provided in a forthcoming Newsletter (subscribe). |