PORT CANAVERAL — Navy Capt. Jesse Zimbauer strode atop the USS Indiana in the sunshine, walking past sailors who were spot-painting the jet-black hull for Saturday's commissioning ceremony.

"Let's go take a look at the most advanced, powerful warship on Earth," Zimbauer said.

Thursday, Navy officials invited FLORIDA TODAY on a guided tour of the nuclear-powered submarine at the north side of Port Canaveral. The Indiana is docked at Trident Wharf at the Naval Ordnance Test Unit at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The Navy will livestream the commissioning ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, at navy.mil. Tickets are no longer available for the event. Zimbauer — the Indiana's inaugural commanding officer — said officials expect up to 5,200 spectators. U.S. Rep. Jim Banks from Indiana will deliver the keynote address.

Following are 10 fast facts about the Indiana:

The sub is the Navy's 3rd ship named after Indiana

The first USS Indiana was a battleship that served from 1895-1903, participating in the Santiago Harbor naval blockade during the Spanish-American War.

The second Indiana battleship served from 1942-47 in the World War II Pacific theater, seeing action at Iwo Jima, Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands, Mariana Islands, Okinawa and preparations for the invasion of Japan.

Vice President Mike Pence, a former Indiana governor, spoke during the submarine's April 2017 christening ceremony in Newport News, Virginia.

The digital periscope is operated using an Xbox controller

In the control room, sailors use an Xbox controller to manipulate the digital "photonics mast" periscope. The optical device produces rotating outdoor images of the Naval Ordnance Test Unit and distant Jetty Park Pier, which are displayed on nearby monitors.

"One thing you'll note about this control room, if you've seen a lot of submarine movies: You don't have this giant periscope down the middle with something to look through," Cmdr. Sarah Self-Kyler said.

"What we've learned over time with the digital periscope is, not (just) one person can look out and see outside. This video image can be transmitted throughout the boat," Self-Kyler said.

Zimbauer's cabin is behind the control room wall

The commanding officer's quarters lie directly behind the control room, steps away.

"In my stateroom, I have all the communication circuits. I have every screen you see in here," Zimbauer said, standing in the control room near a large digital navigational chart.

"I know what depth we're operating in, what heading, what speed we're doing. And then I also have an open mic — I can hear all of the voice communications that are happening in here," Zimbauer said.

"I keep that stuff going at night, which is kind of weird. But I'll tell you, you'd be surprised. I can hear things that come over the open mike, and I'll be like, 'I don't know if that's exactly the way we planned it.'"

The sub measures 26 yards longer than a football field

The Indiana clocks in at 377 feet long. The warship is 34 feet wide and weighs about 7,800 tons underwater.

About 135 sailors comprise the crew, but the ship can hold up to 200 people during deployments and sea trials.

The nuclear-powered submarine can exceed speeds of 29 mph underwater. Top payloads are 24 torpedoes and 12 Tomahawk cruise missiles.

The Indiana will be the 1st submarine commissioned at Port Canaveral

Two Navy destroyers, the USS Porter (1999) and USS Mason (2003), were previously commissioned at the Naval Ordnance Test Unit's wharves.

"However, submarines are not uncommon at the military port at Port Canaveral. The facility has been recently undergoing significant upgrades and refurbishing this year, but was the second-busiest port in U.S. Navy Region Southeast, which includes King's Bay, Georgia, and Mayport (in Jacksonville)," Lt. Cmdr. K.J. Lettow said.

"About half of Port Canaveral military activity supports submarine forces," Lettow said.

The Indiana cruised to the Port in June during its sea trials

Zimbauer described the submarine's testing process as "Shakedown Summer."

At Port Canaveral, the Indiana loaded with torpedoes and a large personnel team for weapons testing.

"We test it acoustically, magnetically. We drive it as deep as we can. We put it through its paces. We do a bunch of weapons testing, and I do communications testing. We test the vertical launch system," Zimbauer said.

"The crew has been away from home port, by our count, all but 10 days all summer," he said.

Sailors sleep in "racks" that measure about 18 inches high

Small berthing rooms accommodate six sailors, who sleep in bunks stacked three-high. Each rack features a reading light, blue curtain and small lockbox, along with a pillow, mattress and blanket.

The Indiana has a row of temporary racks in the middle of its torpedo room, for now.

"Sailors would slide in there. And this place would kind of (have) the lighting kept low, try to keep it quiet. And this is where they spent their summer sleeping," Zimbauer said.

"Normally, if we were going to go on deployment, we would fill this whole space with torpedoes," he said.

The Indiana (somewhat) resembles the International Space Station

The submarine was built using modular construction, with interior furnishings fitted into each hull section.

"When we operate below the ocean, we've got to do a lot of the functions of the space station. I've got to produce my own power. I've got to produce my own oxygen," Zimbauer said.

"I've got to maintain carbon dioxide levels — you guys have watched 'Apollo 13,' you know how that works," he said.

"And one thing I do they don't do is, I produce my own water," he said.

Dining table in the officers' wardroom doubles as a surgical table

Indiana officers eat three meals per day in the wardroom, using china and crystal glassware. The room is also used for planning meetings.

"This space doubles as a surgery table. These lights can all be reconfigured to put lights on a patient," Zimbauer said, standing alongside the table.

"In the unfortunate circumstance somebody breaks an arm, or ends up having appendicitis, maybe even a bad tooth — I don't know that I'd want to get a tooth removed underway — but all those things have happened in the history of submarining," Zimbauer said.

"They'll put him up here and set that leg, stabilize that patient until we can get him back to a facility, if that's what it may require," he said.

Port Canaveral's sea turtles flock to the Indiana at the wharf

Two juvenile sea turtles were nibbling on green algae attached to the warship's bow when the tour began.

"It's like getting goats to mow your grass — sea turtles to clean your hull," Self-Kyler joked.

"Once those sea turtles are done with us, we're going to be the fastest Virginia-class in the galaxy," Zimbauer replied.

When the tour ended roughly 90 minutes later, a larger sea turtle was busily feasting on algae near the sail.

Neale is South Brevard watchdog reporter at FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Neale at 321-242-3638

or rneale@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @RickNeale1

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