The Lemurian Star is a fictional ship of the Intelligence/Defense agency S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Marvel movie “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”. This ship is a mobile satellite launch platform for Project Insight Targeting Satellites. We see the ship in the opening of the movie when a group of pirates attacked the ship and took control of it.
The video below shows the ship as it appears in the Marvel Movie.
Even though the Lemurian Star is not real, it is based on a real ship, which is also a mobile rocket launch platform. The real ship, on which some of the scenes of the movie were filmed is called Sea Launch Commander. The Sea Launch Commander was built by Kvaerner Govan Ltd at Govan shipyard in Glasgow, Scotland, and launched in 1997. The ship is registered in Liberia and is currently moored in the Port of Long Beach. After the bankruptcy of Sea Launch, the Russian company Energia acquired a controlling interest of the ship. Energia is a Russian manufacturer of ballistic missiles, spacecraft and space station components. The vessel also carries the colors representing the nation with the majority ownership – Russia.
As the ship is currently docked in Long Beach, I was able to snap some photos of the Sea Launch ships. The Sea Launch Commander is the Assembly and Command Ship (ACS). While docked in the harbor, the Zenit rocket is assembled aboard the Sea Launch Commander and then transferred to the launch platform Ocean Odyssey. Both ships travel to the equator in the Pacific Ocean. Why equator? The equator gives you the best possible position for launching rockets from planet earth.
During launch operations, the Sea Launch Commander is positioned about 5 km away from the actual launch platform – Ocean Odyssey. The vessel then becomes the mission control center for the upcoming launch. It offers accommodations for 240 crew members, customers, and VIPs.
To be honest, I didn’t know that this type of ships existed and that there are satellite launches out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Ever since I watched my first rocket launch live from Cape Canaveral, I am hooked.
If you are interested in rocket launches, check out my other posts about Launch Experiences.
Peter has a passion for Traveling, Photography, and Geocaching. These are the best ingredients for amazing adventures all over the globe. “Traveling is fun, no matter if you stay in a luxury hotel or travel like a backpacker.” Peter shares his experiences on his Blog www.gatetoadventures.com
Some of Peter’s photos are published on corporate websites, in-flight magazines, travel guides, and much more.