Sailors aboard aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) recently celebrated the grand opening of the Apollo Gym, a welcome addition that will benefit the more than 1,700 sailors currently assigned to the ship and thousands of crew members yet to come.

The gym is named in honor of President Kennedy’s pivotal role in the space race.

“The Apollo Gym is a major incremental quality of service improvement,” said Capt. Colin Day, commanding officer. “In particular, our reactor department sailors, who have been working tirelessly aboard the ship for almost three years, will have sustained, daily access to this outstanding fitness facility. I’m incredibly proud of our sailors and shipyard teammates who made this a reality.”

“It’s exciting to see the aft gym open aboard John F. Kennedy,” said Shayne Laws, Newport News Shipbuilding construction superintendent. “We are working with urgency alongside our U.S. Navy teammates to bring Kennedy to life, and this space taking shape is the latest example of that.”

The project brought together the ship’s crew; NNS; the Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair (SUPSHIP); the commander, Navy Installations Command, Morale, Wellness, and Recreation (MWR); and Deployed Forces Support.

Building the gym was an intensive process all its own, as some equipment could not fit through the ladder wells and had to be disassembled and reassembled.

“The convenience of having a gym on board is a game-changer,” said Lt. Tyler Chema, reactor department networking division officer. “It saves time compared to driving off-site. We are truly grateful for this addition to our ship.”