USS Gabrielle Giffords open for public tours this week in Galveston

GALVESTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The 421-foot USS Gabrielle Giffords will be commissioned this weekend in Texas.

Navy officials say ceremonies will be held Saturday in Galveston to commission the warship named for the former Arizona congresswoman, who was shot in 2011 in Tucson, Arizona, but survived the assassination attempt.

The $475 million ship was constructed by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, and arrived in Galveston last weekend.

Giffords helped christen the ship in 2015. It's the ninth in a series of high-speed vessels designed to navigate in shallow coastal regions known as littoral waters.

Giffords' husband is retired astronaut Mark Kelly, a former Navy captain stationed in Galveston County during his NASA service.

Free public tours of the ship are available at Pier 21 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Friday through Saturday in Galveston. Guests will need a photo ID in order to board the ship.

San Diego will be its home port.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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