Shakedown cruise

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Shakedown cruises are also used to familiarize the ship's crew with operation of the craft.

In the travel industry a shakedown cruise is undertaken to test a ship's systems, both mechanical and human. These test cruises are sometimes made with passengers traveling at a discount.

The term can also refer in a generic sense to the process of testing out any new technology or systems.

[edit] Famous examples

The USS Triton, a nuclear-powered radar picket submarine, was the first vessel to execute a submerged circumnavigation while on its shakedown cruise in early 1960. Triton is the only U.S. Navy ship to receive a Presidential Unit Citation for its shakedown cruise.

[edit] References in popular culture

Rocker Jay Ferguson composed and released a single in 1979 entitled "Shakedown Cruise," which narrates a particularly trying series of events for a bedraggled sailor. Guitarist Joe Walsh plays lead guitar on the track.

A 2005 film entitled Apollo 7: Shakedown Cruise details the Apollo 7 mission, which marked several firsts in the American space program. It was the first manned Apollo mission to be successfully launched and also the first three-man operation.