Last used by the U.S. Air Force in the 1960s to track missiles and space craft, the hulking Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg is being sunk some seven miles off the coast of Key West, Florida, Today the Vandenberg will become a home for ocean life in 140 feet of water. Officials hope it will attract fish and divers and relieve recreational pressure on nearby natural reefs.

Explosives will be detonated to flood the 17,000-ton, 523-foot-long ship that was first built as a cargo ship in World War II. The explosive detonations will be directly beneath its hull tearing the ship open and it should complete sinking in less than three minutes, according to Vandenberg project manager Joe Weatherby.

An AP report also notes that clean-up preparations for the ship’s scheduled sinking included the removal of more than a million feet of wire, 1,500 vent gaskets, dozens of watertight doors, 81 bags of asbestos, 46 tonnes of garbage, 300 pounds of material containing mercury, 185 drums (of 55 gallons) each packed with paint chips, and 193 tonnes of cancer-causing substances.

Prior to serving as a tracking vessel during the Cold War, the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg saw service in 1944 when it was used to ferry troops and supplies between San Francisco and island bases in the western Pacific. In 1945 it transported U.S. troops back home from Europe.

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