NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville said today it hopes for the safe return of the Titan submersible craft and its crew and confirmed it consulted on the deep-sea exploring vehicle with builder OceanGate.

But the NASA center said it “did not conduct testing and manufacturing (of the submersible) via its workforce or facilities.”

“We regret to hear the Titan submersible is missing, and we remain hopeful the crew will be found unharmed,” said the statement released by Marshall Acting News Chief Lance D. Davis.

“NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center had a Space Act Agreement with OceanGate and consulted on materials and manufacturing processes for the submersible,” the statement said. “NASA did not conduct testing and manufacturing via its workforce or facilities, which was done elsewhere by OceanGate.”

Titan went missing with its crew Saturday near the site of the sunken ocean liner Titanic. Searchers continued to look for submersible today.

OceanGate Expeditions had said in a 2020 news release reported again this week in the wake of the submersible’s disappearance that Marshall “will serve as the facility where the development and manufacturing of a new aerospace-grade hull is completed. This design effort is key to OceanGate completing its latest Cyclops-class submersible that is intended to dive to 6,000 meters (19,800 feet) with five crewmembers on board.”

With global attention centered on the missing submersible, OceanGate Expeditions confirmed that CEO Stockton Rush was onboard and piloting the craft on a mission to explore the wreckage of the Titanic. The submersible went missing Sunday after losing contact with its surface ship.

There were five people onboard including Hamish Harding, a British billionaire, French sea-diving expert Paul Henry Nargeolet and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman.

Developments Tuesday included the Navy saying it is deploying its Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System to assist in the search. The equipment is designed for the “recovery of large, bulky, and heavy undersea objects” and has deep ocean lifting capacity, reports said. The Air Force is also moving rescue equipment to the St. Johns Newfoundland, reports said.

One of the main concerns was whether the five-person crew would have enough oxygen. The vessel had a 96-hour emergency supply of oxygen when it was reported missing over the weekend.