The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 24 January 1972 and her keel was laid down on 19 October 1974.

She was launched on 30 July 1977 sponsored by Esther Debra Bray (née Taylor), wife of former Congressman William G. Bray, and commissioned on 5 January 1980.

After the boat's final deployment from April to October 1997, she was awarded the Battle Efficiency E and a Navy Unit Commendation.

As a result of the ending of the Cold War and the so-called "Peace Dividend", the boat was inactivated in 1998, only 18 years into her 30-year life.

Attendees at the commemoration ceremony included former crewmen and officers of the boat.