A merchant vessel transporting three Delta IV rocket boosters arrived at the Boat House on South base here Sept. 18.
The Delta Mariner, a 16-man ship, started its voyage in Decatur, Ala., on Aug. 22 and navigated through the Ohio, Mississippi and Tennessee rivers to eventually hit open water at the Gulf of Mexico. From there, the mariner took a route that lead through the Panama Canal and Pacific Ocean before reaching Vandenberg.
Once the crew arrived here, it took them three days to unload the three rocket stages. Each day, the crew had to wait until the tide conditions were optimal to dock the ship.
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