She was acquired from the National Defense Reserve Fleet in the 1950s and converted into a missile range tracking ship with a civilian crew.

They were slightly larger, more modern design when compared to the earlier Liberty ships, with a more powerful steam turbine engine allowing them to join high speed convoys and to make a more difficult target for German U-boats.

She was taken out of the National Defense Reserve Fleet in the late 1950s and converted by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation, Pascagoula, Mississippi, into a complex electronics center; named Range Tracker and designated AG-160 on 12 July 1960; reclassified AGM-1 on 27 November 1960; and placed in service in May 1961.

USNS Range Tracker's inertial navigation system monitored astronaut Gordon Cooper's 22-orbit space flight during July 1963.

In 1969, when the Air Force Systems Command no longer needed Range Tracker, she was placed out of service at Port Hueneme 27 September 1969; transferred to the U.S. Maritime Administration 12 November 1969; and laid up at Suisun Bay.