High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! USNS Eltanin (T-AK-270/T-AGOR-8) was an Eltanin-class cargo ship with an ice-breaking hull acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1957 and then operated by the Navy in a non-commissioned status, named after Eltanin, the star in constellation Draco. Her designation was changed to that of an oceanographic research ship in 1962 when she operated in Antarctic waters.