The recovery ships were built at Atlantic Marine Shipyard on
Fort George Island,
Florida, and delivered in January 1981 to their original owner,
United Technologies Corporation. As well as recovering the Space Shuttle, SRB's
Liberty Star has since 1998 been used to tow the
Space Shuttle external fuel tanks from their assembly plant at
Michoud Assembly Facility near
New Orleans, Louisiana, to the
Vehicle Assembly Building at the
Kennedy Space Center in Florida. She served a similar role in recovering the first test flight of the
Ares I and was anticipated to continue recovering boosters for the
Constellation program before it was canceled in 2010. The
Liberty Star underwent special strengthening enhancements to withstand the greater burden of towing the external fuel tanks. The
stern was strengthened at critical points, new bulwark fairings were added, and an H-bitt was installed through which cabling is threaded to keep it centered during towing operations. Also installed was a
hydraulic towing winch, referred to as a double-drum waterfall winch, holding or more of wire rope on each drum. One drum supports booster retrievals while the other is devoted to external tank towing. submersible
Liberty Star has also occasionally been used to support scientific research operations including research for the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and several universities. She is usually docked alongside her sister at the Solid Rocket Booster processing facility at the
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Each ship is propelled by two main engines providing a total of 2,900 horsepower. The main engines turn two seven-foot (2.1-meter) propellers with controllable pitch, which provides greater response time and maneuverability. The ships also are equipped with two thrusters. The stern thruster is a water jet system that allows the ship to move in any direction without the use of propellers. This system was installed to protect the endangered
manatee population that inhabits regions of the Banana River where the ships are based. The system also allows divers to work near the ship during operations at a greatly reduced risk.
Transfer On August 21, 2012, NASA agreed to transfer the
Liberty Star to the
U.S. Department of Transportation for use as a training vessel at the
United States Merchant Marine Academy. The ship arrived at
Kings Point, New York, on September 13, 2012, with formal turnover occurring on September 14. After being refit for training duty, which included additional berthing, she was renamed TV
Kings Pointer, the fifth vessel of the Academy to carry that name. The transfer agreement stipulated that NASA could again use the vessel on future missions if she was available. == References ==