MV Liberty Star
{{Short description|NASA ship}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
|+ MV Liberty Star {{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Liberty Star with SRB after STS-87 (2).jpg |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Ship country=United States |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States}} |Ship name=MV Liberty Star |Ship owner=NASA |Ship operator=United Space Alliance |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder=Atlantic Marine Shipyard, Fort George Island, Florida, U.S. |Ship yard number= |Ship laid down= |Ship launched= |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened=September 27, 1980 |Ship completed= |Ship commissioned= |Ship out of service=September 14, 2012 |Ship homeport=Port Canaveral, Florida, U.S. |Ship identification=*Call sign: WRPH
|Ship status=Transferred to Maritime Administration |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship career |Ship country=United States |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States}} |Ship name=TV Kings Pointer |Ship owner=U.S. Dept of Transportation |Ship operator=U.S. Maritime Administration |Ship acquired=September 14, 2012 |Ship commissioned= |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport=Kings Point, New York, U.S. |Ship identification= |Ship fate= |Ship status=In service |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Ship tonnage={{GT|484}}, {{GRT|743}}; {{NetT|239}}, {{NRT|222}} |Ship displacement={{convert|1052|ST|abbr=on|lk=on}} |Ship length={{convert|176|ft|1|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|37|ft|1|abbr=on}} |Ship height={{convert|72|ft|1|abbr=on}} |Ship depth={{convert|15|ft|1|abbr=on}} |Ship draft={{convert|12|ft|1|abbr=on}} |Ship power=2 × {{convert|166|kW|hp|abbr=on|disp=flip}} Kato generators |Ship propulsion=*2 × {{convert|1450|hp|abbr=on}} GM EMD 12-645E6A diesel engines, driving 2 propellers
|Ship speed={{convert|15|kn|abbr=on}} |Ship range={{convert|6900|mi|km|abbr=on}} |Ship complement=*10 × crew
|Ship notes=Towing capacity: {{convert|60000|lb|kg |
| 2|abbr=on}}
}} |
MV Liberty Star is a formerly NASA-owned and United Space Alliance-operated vessel which primarily served as an SRB recovery ship following the launch of Space Shuttle missions. It also performed tugboat duties and acted as a research platform. In 2012, it was transferred to the U.S. Department of Transportation for use as a training vessel at the United States Merchant Marine Academy as the TV Kings Pointer. Her sister ship is the {{MV|Freedom Star}}.
History
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 {{convert|2000|ft|m}} or more of wire rope on each drum. One drum supports booster retrievals while the other is devoted to external tank towing.
Image:Liberty Star with DeepWorker 2000.jpg 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.{{cite web |url=http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/nasafact/ships.htm |title=Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster Retrieval Ships |work=NASA.gov |id=KSC Release No. 46-81 |date=September 1994 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207172339/http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/nasafact/ships.htm |archivedate=2011-02-07 }}
= 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
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External links
{{Commons category-inline|Liberty Star (tugboat, 1981)|Liberty Star (tugboat, 1981)}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110207172339/http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/nasafact/ships.htm Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster Retrieval Ships] at NASA.gov
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Category:Maritime vessels related to spaceflight
Category:Merchant ships of the United States