PCU New Mexico (SSN 779) To Be Christened

The sixth Virginia-class submarine, PCU New Mexico (SSN 779) will be christened at 1000 EST Saturday at Northrop Grumann Shipyard in Newport News, VA. A live webcast of the event will be broadcast at this link. Here's the New Mexico Council of the Navy League's boat page, and here's an earlier post I had about the competition to design the ship's crest; a follow-on post about the winning design is here, and the symbolism is discussed here. And last but not least, here's a picture of the star of Saturday's show taken in May just after she passed the "Pressure Hull Complete" milestone:

One of my old shipmates is the Nav on the boat; I certainly hope that he and the rest of the officers and crew enjoy the ceremony and shipyard-provided food.

Update 1746 13 Dec 08: A couple of photos of the Christening ceremony can be found here and here. I also liked the photos accompanying this article from the Virginian-Pilot about the preparations for the ceremony; this one, showing the covered-up propulsor and the dihedrals, is especially good for those of you who haven't seen what the aft control surfaces look like on the newer submariners.