History
NR-1's missions included search, object recovery, geological survey, oceanographic research, and installation and maintenance of underwater equipment. NR-1's unique capability to remain at one site and completely map or search an area with a high degree of accuracy was a valuable asset on several occasions.
Following the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986, NR-1 was used to search for, identify, and recover critical parts of the Challenger craft. Because it could remain on the sea floor without resurfacing frequently, NR-1 was a major tool for searching deep waters. NR-1 remained submerged and on station even when heavy weather and rough seas hit the area and forced all other search and recovery ships into port.
In 1995, Dr. Robert Ballard used the NR-1 and its support ship, the MV Carolyn Chouest, to explore the wreck of the HMHS Britannic, the sister ship of the RMS Titanic, which struck a mine and sank off the coast of Greece while serving as a hospital ship during WWI.
On 25 February 2007, NR-1, towed by Carolyn Chouest, arrived in Galveston, Texas, in preparation for an expedition to survey the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and other sites in the Gulf of Mexico.
The NR-1 was deactivated on 21 November 2008 at the US Navy submarine base at Groton, Connecticut, defuelled at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, then sent to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to be scrapped.
Read more about this topic: American Submarine NR-1
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