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call for occasional use-in this case NASA missions-allowing midshipmen to get at-sea experience alongside commercial crews. The agreement is mutually beneficial for NASA and MARAD, and of course for USMMA. NASA will continue to have access to the ship if the agency requires its use, and if it is available. USMMA midshipmen already obtain the sea time needed for their US Coast Guard license aboard commercial merchant ships during their "sea year," but the new training vessel will familiarize midshipmen with shipboard equipment and characteristics, and basic ship handling. Since FY2009, the Obama Administration has requested, and Congress has appropriated, more than $300 million for USMMA, which includes $239 million for operations and $61 million for capital improvements. MV Liberty Star was built in 1981 and served as one of two recovery vessels for retrieving the space shuttle's solid rocket boosters, which were jettisoned about two minutes after launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA still is working to identify a suitable new use for MV Freedom Star, the other recovery ship. Propelled by two combined 2,900 horsepower diesel engines, the 176-foot long MV Liberty Star has a 6,000-mile range and a maximum speed of 15 knots. Its 7,500-pound deck crane wi ll be an ideal tool for providing a basic understanding of modern cargo operations. It also has a
fast rescue boat, which will provide midshipmen wi th valuable experience in general launch operations. In addition, the vessel's double towing winch, substantial towing H bi rrs, and a massive towing fairlead add significant new towing training capabilities to the academy's portfolio. (USMMA, 300 Steamboat Road, Kings Point, NY 11024; Ph. 866 546-4778; www.usmma.edu) ... In October, the Cold War Gallery at the National Museum of the United States Navy opened to the public, coinciding with the Navy's 237th birthday. In development since 2003, the gallery interprets the nearly 50-year Cold War with the Soviet Union, spanning the years 1945-1991. In addition to its impressive collection of artifacts-incl uding a Trident I C-4 missile suspended over the entrance-and large collectio n of ship and aircraft models, the stories of US Navy Cold War veterans are presented to the public through exhibits and fi lm. Four large new exhibits have been constructed for the gallery in the last three years, the larges t of w hi ch is the Covert Submarine Operation exhibit. The newest exhibit, Into the Lion's Den, recreates the bridge of the cruiser USS Newport News (CA 148) during a 1972 night engagement in Haiphong Harbor. Visitors will be able to see some of the US Navy's most impressive weaponry from this era, including a Tomahawk Land Attack M issile and a "Fat Man" Mark III Atomic Bomb. For those who can't get
SEA HISTORY 141 , WINTER 2012- 13