Halter Launches Rocket Booster Recovery Vessel 'Independence7
Jack Edwards, president of Halter Marine, has announced the recent launching of the solid rocket booster recovery vessel Independence at its Moss Point, Miss., yard.
The 200-foot vessel will perform the key role in the recovery of rocket boosters launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as part of the space shuttle program.
Participating in the launching ceremony as principal speaker was Maj. Gen. Donald W. Henderson, the officer in charge of the Air Force's Shuttle Program. His wife, Dawn E. Henderson, christened the vessel.
The twin-screw vessel is propelled by two Cummins KTA-3067-M 16- cylinder diesel engines, each with an output of 1,250 bhp at 1,800 rpm.
She is fully equipped to handle all necessary diving evolutions, with complete diving equipment, air refilling systems, and a hyperbaric chamber for decompression. Bow and stern thrusters will be used for propulsion for safety when divers are in the water. A complete electronics system for navigation, communications, and for locating and recovering the rocket boosters will be installed.
The Independence is being built by Halter under a contract from Lockheed Shipbuilding. The Lockheed Space and Operations Company will take delivery of the vessel, which will be operated for Lockheed by Morton Thiokol. Delivery is scheduled for May this year.
Gen. Henderson stated that the solid rocket booster recovery process is a "prime example of de- signed-in cost avoidance that contributes substantially to providing an affordable launch system. A new set of solid rocket boosters costs $67 million. The retrieval and refurbishment cuts that cost to $22 million, a net saving of $45 million per mission.
The Independence may well pay back its costs in the first few missions." He then went on to praise the Lockheed/Halter team responsible for the Independence, in particular the shipyard at Halter Marine's Moss Point yard for building the vessel on schedule and within budget.
Mr. Edwards, in his launching ceremony address, said that the performance of the program to date is a tribute to the Lockheed and Halter team. He said that he was pleased that the Moss Point yard once again demonstrated its superb performance by building a vessel of outstanding quality and meeting the rigorous schedule required to deliver the Independence on schedule.
The Independence is expected to participate in the first space shuttle launch from the Vandenburg site, which is scheduled for early 1986.
Other stories from April 1985 issue
Content
- M A R I T I M E R E P O R T E R P u r c h a s es N e w a n d L a r g e r W o r ld H e a d q u a r t e r s O f f i c es page: 4
- Signet Awards Wartsila Design Contract For Two Cruise Vessels page: 5
- Propeller Polishing Guide Offered By Lips Propellers page: 6
- Kockums Delivers Big Vehicle Carrier To Wallenius Lines page: 7
- Red Fox Negotiating Licensing Agreement With John G. Kincaid page: 7
- Ocean Studies Conference Slated For June 16-19 At University Of Rhode Island page: 8
- Nor-Shipping '85 page: 10
- Pyramid Pump Division Offers N e w Catalog On Rotary Pump Lines page: 13
- Haggett Named Board Chairman For Shipbuilders Council Of America page: 13
- Valmet Specializing In Meeting Requirements Of The Offshore Industry page: 14
- New Diagnostic Kit From Aeroquip Corp. page: 14
- Marine Machinery Association Issues Invitation To Attend May 1, Meeting In D.C. page: 15
- Fincantieri To Build Huge Offshore Workship For Micoperi page: 18
- Stork-Powered Tug/Supply Vessel Launched By Quality Shipyards page: 20
- Robertson Introduces New Small Commercial Autopilot page: 20
- Halter Launches Rocket Booster Recovery Vessel 'Independence7 page: 22
- Radio Technical Commission For Maritime Services Annual Meeting page: 24
- Tug Fleet Owner And Operator Bart Turecamo Dies At Age Of 64 page: 25
- New Product Brochures Offered By Armco page: 25
- Fibergrate Introduces New Fibertred FRP Stair Tread Panels page: 26
- Promotions Announced By Woodward-Clyde page: 27
- Allied Introduces New Super-Strength Fiber page: 28
- ASNE DAY '85 page: 30
- Marinette Marine Offers Brochure On Shipbuilding Facilities And Capabilities page: 40
- MarAd Awards Contracts Totaling $2.7 Million For Repairs To RRF Ships page: 41
- Stanford Study Shows That Oceanrouting Reduces Casualties page: 42
- Marathon Introduces Semisubmersible For Gulf Of Mexico Environment page: 43
- T-AKX Prepositioning Ship Delivered By Bethlehem's Sparrows Point Yard page: 44
- "No-Leak" Seal From Falk Keeps Oil In And Dirt Out page: 45
- National Marine Study On PowerLube 750® Now Available page: 45
- Constant-Tension Winch Now Available From W.W. Patterson Company page: 46
- Capacity of Cockatoo Dockyard's Vickdock® Expanded To 1,000 Tons page: 46
- OTC-'85 SPECIAL PREVIEW page: 49
- Ship Financing Reforms Announced By Secretary Of Transportation Dole page: 76
- 'Silver Anniversary' For Atlas Freshwater Generator And Knutsen Vessel page: 76
- Gulf Coast Shipyards page: 78
- DAMPA Continuous Ceiling Approved By U.S. N a v y page: 97
- Norcontrol Revamps Its U.S. Operations — H o g a n Named President Of Authorized Agent page: 97
- Scanner Gives Peterson Builders Edge In Navy Shipbuilding Project page: 98
- Saab Introduces New Level-Gauging System page: 99
- Daewoo Names New Shipbuilding President page: 101
- Saab Purchases Salwico page: 101
- Perry Offshore Announces Expansion Through Tritech International Network page: 101
- Sonatech Announces New Expendable Doppler Soil Penetrometer page: 102
- TeleSystems Introduces Advanced Transportable Satellite Earth Station page: 102
- Membrane Air Separation System From Dow Produces Gaseous Nitrogen On-Site, Economically page: 103
- Work On Hopper Dredge 'Ouachita' For Gulf Coast Trailing Co. Is On Schedule At Twin City —Launching Set For End Of May page: 104
- New Worldwide Directory Available From Manville page: 104
- Larsson Appointed N e w Chief Executive of MacGregor-Navire page: 105
- BMV Maskin A.S. Introduces New Engine page: 106
- New Waterways Rope By Columbian Rope page: 109
- New Monitoring/Alarm System By Siemens AG page: 110
- Allison Gas Turbines Will Power World's Fastest Patrol Boat page: 111
- Contecco Appointed Exclusive Sales Agent For Swedish Firm page: 111
- Moss Point Marine Delivers Giant Freezer/Stern Trawler page: 112
- London Is Site For First International Cruise Shipping Conference June 19-20 page: 112
- McDermott Upgrades M / V Enterprise For Offshore Logistics page: 116
- New Marine Overcoat Sea-Slide™ Increases Speed, Saves Fuel page: 116
- Emulsion Fuels International Announces Supply Agreement With Exxon Chemical page: 118
- Cummins Announces New Increased Power Ratings For Their NT(A)855-M And KT(A)19-M Marine Engines page: 118
- Matson Will Convert Trailership To Combination Containership-RO/RO page: 119
- NcNab Now American Supplier Of Aquacatch® Speed Through Water Log page: 119
- ASCARGO Offers Free Brochure On Cargo Access Equipment page: 124
- Baldt 'Engineering Innovations Bulletin Highlights Moor-Free"" Rapid Release System page: 124
- Clemco Pipe Cleaning Tools Blast-Clean Pipe Interior Without Rotating The Pipe page: 125
- Shipboard Computer Distributed By Magnavox Displays Detailed Charts, Automates Navigation page: 125