USNS Observation Island ( T - AGM - 23 ) USNS " Observation Island " ( T - AGM - 23 ) , also known as ex - MA - 28 , ex - YAG - 57 , ex - E - AG - 154 , " Empire State Mariner " , is the historic naval vessel that in 1969 launched the first Poseidon Fleet Ballistic Missile ever successfully deployed from a vessel at sea , earning the ship and crew the Meritorious Unit Commendation . The ship is currently one of two Missile Range Instrumentation Ships operated by the Military Sealift Command . One of the radars it carries is the AN / SPQ - 11 Cobra Judy Passive Electronically Scanned Array radar . USNS " Observation Island " operates worldwide , monitoring compliance with strategic arms treaties and supporting U . S . military weapons test programs . " Observation Island " carries an Air Force shipborne phased - array radar system for collecting data on missile tests . The ship is operated by Military Sealift Command for the Air Force Technical Applications Center at Patrick Air Force Base . USNS " Observation Island " was built as a " Mariner " class merchant ship , launched in August , 1953 , and was acquired by the Navy in September 1956 for use as a fleet ballistic missile test ship . The vessel was converted at Norfolk Naval Shipyard , and kept in reserve as a Maritime Administration asset from 1972 until 1977 . In August 1977 , " Observation Island " was reacquired by the U . S . Navy and transferred to Military Sealift Command , where it was reclassified as T - AGM 23 , a missile range instrumentation ship . History . USNS " Observation Island " was converted to the first naval ship that had a fully integrated Fleet Ballistic Missile System . No major hull or engineering changes were made to the ship during this conversion . Because of the refit , the ship underwent a shakedown cruise at Guantanamo Bay . The first at - sea launch of the A - 1 Polaris missile was from the USS " George Washington " ( SSBN - 598 ) on July 20 , 1960 , and was monitored by the " Observation Island " . The ship was also present for initial tests of the A - 2 and A - 3 variants of Polaris . It was aboard " Observation Island " that President John F . Kennedy , on November 16 , 1963 , witnessed an A - 3 Polaris launch , six days before his assassination . While aboard " Observation Island " , President Kennedy gave his final speech from a U . S . Navy vessel : In 1983 , the first ever ( USA ) naval installation of a phased - array radar system was completed and tested on the USNS Observation Island . Weeks of sea trials were spent testing and perfecting the software required for a nonstable platform . Meritorious Unit Commendation . While the Observation Island was stationed at Port Canaveral , adjacent to NASA at Cape Kennedy , Florida , in the very week Apollo 11 was launched from the Cape , the ship also made history by beginning its mission to achieve " the first successful at - sea firing of the POSEIDON Fleet Ballistic Missile . " ( Admiral E . R . Zumwalt Jr . , 1971 ) . The commendation was earned by the 1969 crew and was awarded in 1971 while the ship was stationed at Pearl Harbor , Hawaii for various range survey duties . In later 71 she was decommissioned for a while , though later she reappeared for other missions as a USNS ship ( see above ) . The success of the mission earned the ship and crew the Meritorious Unit Commendation from the Secretary of the Navy . As taken directly from the Commendation letter sent to crewman SD2 Rolando S . Caparas , ( along with cover letter from Commanding Officer , Captain W . C . Dotson ) , Admiral Zumwalt wrote of the Commendation : The Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation can be awarded to a unit that has performed service of a character comparable to that which would merit a Bronze Star in a combat situation , or an equivalent award in a non - combat situation to an individual . Photocopies of both letters are inserted below . Present . In 2008 , the USNS " Observation Island " was part of the U . S . Government program attempting to use an anti - missile missile to shoot down satellites by tracking the satellite before and after the missile launch . Replacement . USNS " Howard O . Lorenzen " ( T - AGM - 25 ) was delivered in January 2012 and is slated to replace USNS " Observation Island " when the latter is removed from service on 1 April 2014 ( per NAVADMIN 175 / 13 ) and scrapped .