science

USNS Range Tracker

USNS Range Tracker is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand USNS Range Tracker rather than just read about it. In short: USNS Range Tracker (T-AGM-1/T-AG-160) was an Air Force Systems Command Range Tracker-class missile range instrumentation ship. She was acquired from the National Defense Reserve Fleet in the 1950s and converted into a missile range tracking ship with a civilian crew.

Key takeaways

USNS Range Tracker belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect USNS Range Tracker to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of USNS Range Tracker from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

USNS Range Tracker (T-AGM-1/T-AG-160) was an Air Force Systems Command Range Tracker-class missile range instrumentation ship. She was acquired from the National Defense Reserve Fleet in the 1950s and converted into a missile range tracking ship with a civilian crew. She performed tracking duties from 1961 through 1969 on the Western Launch and Test Range.

Built in Portland, Oregon The SS Skidmore Victory (VC2-S-AP3) was laid down 6 April 1945 by Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation as a Victory ship (VC2). She was named for Skidmore College, a liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. She was launched 19 May 1945 and sponsored by Mrs. Harry C. Bates. Skidmore Victory (MCV hull 685) was delivered to Northland Transportation Company on 18 June 1945. Victory ships were a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by American shipyards during World War II to replace losses caused by German submarines. They were slightly larger, more modern design when compared to the earlier Liberty ships, with a more powerful steam turbine engine allowing them to join high speed convoys and to make a more difficult target for German U-boats. She later served American President Lines as President Buchanan.

Placed into service as a tracking ship She was taken out of the National Defense Reserve Fleet in the late 1950s and converted by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation, Pascagoula, Mississippi, into a complex electronics center; named Range Tracker and designated AG-160 on 12 July 1960; reclassified AGM-1 on 27 November 1960; and placed in service in May 1961. A mobile tracking platform for recording data on missiles and satellites that are out of range of established land stations, Range Tracker was homeported at Port Hueneme, California, on the Pacific Missile Range from June 1961 to 1969. She was operated by the Military Sea Transportation Service with a civilian crew.

Tracking astronauts USNS Range Tracker's inertial navigation system monitored astronaut Gordon Cooper's 22-orbit space flight during July 1963.

Out of service In 1969, when the Air Force Systems Command no longer needed Range Tracker, she was placed out of service at Port Hueneme 27 September 1969; transferred to the U.S. Maritime Administration 12 November 1969; and laid up at Suisun Bay. On 10 July 1970, she was sold to American Ship Dismantlers, Inc., for scrapping.

See also Western Launch and Test Range List of ships of the United States Air Force List of Victory ships Liberty ship

References This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here. Photo gallery of USNS Range Tracker at NavSource Naval History Military Sealift Command Timeline

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with USNS Range Tracker

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what USNS Range Tracker claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to USNS Range Tracker before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about USNS Range Tracker ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of USNS Range Tracker

In research: USNS Range Tracker appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses USNS Range Tracker in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: USNS Range Tracker is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1945 ships, Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States, Maritime vessels related to spaceflight, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for USNS Range Tracker outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study USNS Range Tracker in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what USNS Range Tracker means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain USNS Range Tracker out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is USNS Range Tracker in simple terms?

Why does USNS Range Tracker matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study USNS Range Tracker?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on USNS Range Tracker.