John F. Williams/U.S. Navy
What's the point of a flipping research platform? Normal ships move up and down with the waves. FLIP, on the other hand, provides a stable platform for experiments. A 30-foot wave will only make FLIP move up or down three feet. It can stay flipped for up to 30 days at a time -- 45 if supplies are delivered. Most rooms on FLIP have two doors. Things like bunk beds, toilets and stoves are built on swivels and gimbals, so they will turn along with FLIP. Other things that would not rotate so well, like sinks, are built both horizontally and vertically in each room. Scientific instruments are built sideways into the walls, since they're only used when vertical. Crew members and scientists step up onto the walls as they become decks.