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[b]Keel laid for USNS Alan Shepard[/b] Rear Adm. Carol Pottenger, USN, commander of Military Sealift Fleet Support Command, ceremoniously struck the first welding arc to lay the keel for dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Alan Shepard Feb. 14 in San Diego at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, or NASSCO. Shepard is the third ship in the T-AKE class and is named for Navy Rear Adm. Alan B. Shepard Jr., one of the original Mercury astronauts and the first American to travel into space. When completed, the ship will be 689 feet long, have a beam of almost 106 feet, a draft of 30 feet and will displace 41,000 tons. The ship's four diesel-electric motors will produce 35.7 megawatts of power, enabling the ship to attain a speed of 20 knots. The ship's range is approximately 14,000 miles. USNS Shepard will be able to carry 6,675 metric tons of dry cargo and more than 3,200 metric tons, or almost 985,000 gallons of fuel. The ship will also be able to store and transfer up to 52,800 gallons of potable water. In addition to being able to conduct alongside replenishments, the ship will have a flight deck and hangar facilities for two helicopters for vertical replenishment operations. The lead vessel of the T-AKE class, USNS Lewis and Clark, was named for the famous explorers. The second ship, USNS Sacagawea, was named for their Indian guide. Lewis and Clark was christened May 21, 2005, and will join MSC's fleet in summer 2006. Sacagawea is scheduled for christening this summer as well. Both ships will eventually transit to the East Coast and serve with Sealift Logistics Command Atlantic. USNS Alan Shepard will remain on the West Coast and serve with Sealift Logistics Command Pacific. Before striking the arc on USNS Alan Shepard, Rear Adm. Pottenger went through "fundamentals of welding" training. She cheerfully donned a welder's suit and proved to be a quick study. She inscribed her initials and the date on a plate that will be affixed to the ship's keel. MSC's T-AKE senior owner's representative, Art Diaz, provided the quality assurance inspection for the plate and declared the admiral's weld acceptable. In keeping with an ancient ship building tradition of paying for the safety of future mariners who will serve on board the ship, Rear Adm. Pottenger, NASSCO employees and guests placed coins into a piggy bank that will also be affixed to the ship's keel. Some of the notable coins placed in the bank were state quarters from New Hampshire, Shepard's home state; Florida, site of the Kennedy Space Center from which Shepard rocketed into space; and California, where USNS Shepard is being constructed. In honor of USNS Alan Shepard's sister ships, the state coin of Missouri, which depicts Lewis and Clark starting out on their voyage of exploration, and a Sacagawea gold dollar coin were also placed in the bank. When complete, USNS Alan Shepard's multiple capabilities will provide increased replenishment services to U.S. and allied ships, significantly contributing to the Navy's ability to maintain a forward presence throughout the world for years to come.
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