Spacecraft Recovery
9 February 1971: Apollo 14
24 July 1975: ASTP (Apollo 18)
25 September 1973: Skylab 3
8 February 1974: Skylab 4
| General Characteristics: | Awarded: December 18, 1964 |
| Keel laid: March 1, 1966 | |
| Launched: February 3, 1968 | |
| Commissioned: November 16, 1969 | |
| Decommissioned: October 1, 1997 | |
| Builder: Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Penn. | |
| Propulsion system: Two boilers, one geared steam turbines, one shaft, 22,000 total shaft horsepower | |
| Propellers: one | |
| Length: 603, 65 feet (184 meters) | |
| Beam: 104 feet (31.7 meters) | |
| Draft: 25,9 feet (7.9 meters) | |
| Aircraft elevators: two | |
| Displacement: approx. 19,500 tons full load | |
| Speed: 23 knots | |
| Aircraft: 20 UH-46D Sea Knight Helicopters, 10 MH-53E Sea Stallion Helicopters, 3 UH-1 Helicopters, 3 AH-1 Helicopters but the actual mix depends upon mission | |
| Armament: two Phalanx CIWS, two Mk-25 Sea Sparrow Missile Launchers | |
| Crew: 80 officers, 638 enlisted, 1,750 Marine Detachment |
More information on USS New Orleans from the United States Navy.
After decommissioning, the ship was placed in reserve in San Diego, CA. In 2006, she was relocated to Pearh Harbor, first for use in SINKEX, then scheduled for scrapping instead. In 2010, it was again scheduled for sinking during a RIMPAC 2010 exercise. She sank 10 July 2010 after sustaining hits from the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan and France.