USS Nautilus (SSN-571)USS Nautilus (SSN-571) is the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine. Sharing names with the submarine in Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and named after another USS Nautilus (SS-168) that served with distinction in World War II, Nautilus was authorized in 1951 and launched in 1954. USS Nautilus during her initial sea trials, 20 January 1955. (The N6A-1 had been installed on Nautilus and Skate after initial sea trials on the USS Compass Island in 1957. Nautilus attracts some 250,000 visitors annually to her present berth near Naval Submarine Base New London.