Comet was laid down 31 July 1957 under Maritime Administration contract (MA hull 42) at Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Chester, Pennsylvania; launched 31 July 1957; delivered to the Navy 27 January 1958; and placed in service under control of the Military Sealift Command (MSC) as cargo ship USNS Comet (T-AK-269).

Her title was transferred to MARAD, she was redesignated SS Comet and laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benicia, California as a member of the MARAD Ready Reserve Force (RRF).

Removed from MSC control, withdrawn from the RRF by reassignment to the National Defense Reserve Fleet 28 July 2006.

In 2014, the Maritime Administration submitted a docket for disposing of the ship from the National Defense Reserve Fleet.

[2] This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.