The world’s deepest swimming pool will hold as much water as 169 million cups of tea.
The world’s largest swimming pool designed for astronaut training and development of subsea robots will be built in the U.K. near the Cornwall Airport Newquay, which expects to serve as a spaceport for Virgin Orbit launches beginning next year.
Part of what will become the Blue Abyss underwater center, the 164 feet long (50 meters) 130 feet deep (40 m) pool will have a stepped floor and a 164 feet deep (50 m) shaft measuring 52 feet wide (16 m). The company said in a statement that the pool would be able to hold 1,483,216 cubic feet (42,000 cubic meters) of water, which is equivalent to 17 Olympic-sized swimming pools or 169 million cups of tea.
The company is now negotiating with the local authority, Cornwall Council, to purchase four plots of land next to the future Spaceport Cornwall, where the center will be located. It will then apply for planning permission, assuming construction to be completed within 18 months after that. The center is expected to open in 2023.
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