The retired missile-tracking ship Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg was sunk on May 27 and now sits in 140 feet of water six miles off Key West. The ship is reportedly sitting upright with its keel in the sand. After mooring buoys were installed, the site is now open to divers.

The 523-foot Vandenberg was one of the three largest ships in the world to be intentionally sunk as an artificial reef. The ship was at first used to transport troops and was later converted to defending the United States against missile attacks. It also tracked Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and even early Space Shuttle launches. The Vandenberg also played a role as a Russian science ship in the 1999 motion picture “Virus,” which starred Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin and Donald Sutherland.

To watch video, visit the Miami Herald.

The retired missile-tracking ship Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg is destined to become the next artificial reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary just south of Key West, according to the Florida Keys Newsroom. Workers are preparing to sink the ship onm May 27.

The 523-foot Vandenberg is to one of the three largest ships in the world to be intentionally sunk as an artificial reef, the Florida Keys Newsroom said in a statement. The ship was at first used to transport troops and was later converted to defending the United States against missile attacks. It also tracked Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and even early Space Shuttle launches. The Vandenberg also played a role as a Russian science ship in the 1999 motion picture “Virus,” which starred Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin and Donald Sutherland.