The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 21 March 1986 and her keel was laid down on 9 July 1991.

Santa Fe was the second U.S. nuclear submarine to participate in the exercise and also to port in Goa, India.

She made the transit to the East Coast in July 2006, surfacing near the North Pole on the way and stopping in Brest, France.

Santa Fe returned 24 August 2011 to Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam after successfully completing a six-month deployment to the western Pacific region.

During this deployment Santa Fe skillfully conducted four operations of great importance to national security by safely operating in a demanding and challenging undersea environment, directly enhancing fleet, theater and national objectives.