From 1979-1983 the WLV-612 and the United States Lightship WLV-613 alternated at Nantucket Shoals as the '' Nantucket I '' and the '' Nantucket II '' , relieving each other approximately every 21 days . On September 1 , 1983 , while alternating with the '' Nantucket II '' the WLV-612 served as a radar and security-communications platform off of the Bush compound in Kennebunkport , Maine , US Vice President George H.W. Bush was on board when he learned the Soviet Union had shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007 while passing through Soviet Airspace near the Soviet-Alaskan border . The incident propelled the Reagan Administration to allow worldwide civilian access to DNSS/Navstar , the military satellite navigation system that became GPS
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
United States lightship Nantucket (WLV-612)