Video: The Most Advanced Science Ship in America Hits the Water

The newest member of the U.S. academic research fleet has hit the seas. The Sally Ride, named after the first American woman in space, belongs to the U.S. Navy, but is operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, California.

Measuring 238 feet long, the vessel contains four massive diesel generators and specially designed propellers to keep the ship quiet so the scientists onboard can listen for life in the depths below.

"It's the quietest ship that any of our crew have ever sailed on," said Margaret Leinen, director of the Scripps-Institution of Oceanography. "And one of the reasons that's very important is that a lot of the things that we do in the ocean depend on being able to measure sound." 

The Sally Ride also boasts a literal boat-load of high-tech instruments, including sensors to precisely monitor salinity and fluctuations in ocean temperature, and a feature known as dynamic positioning, which allows the ship to keep itself constant in the same spot on the globe, according to the GPS.

To see the vessel in action, check out the video below from Wired: