USC&GS Cosmos was a survey launch

Launch (boat)

A launch in contemporary usage refers to a large motorboat. The name originally referred to the largest boat carried by a warship. The etymology of the word is given as Portuguese lancha "barge", from Malay lancha, lancharan, "boat," from lanchar "velocity without effort," "action of gliding...

 in service in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1887 to 1927.

Cosmos was built in 1887 by the Mare Island Navy Yard at Vallejo

Vallejo, California

Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. She entered service with the Coast and Geodetic Survey that year. She served along the United States West Coast and in the waters of the Territory of Alaska during her career.

On 29-30 April 1913, Cosmos joined the Coast and Geodetic Survey survey ship USC&GS Thomas R. Gedney

USC&GS Thomas R. Gedney

USC&GS Thomas R. Gedney, originally USCS Thomas R. Gedney, was a survey ship in service in the United States Coast Survey from 1875 to 1878 and in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1878 to 1915....

 and Launch 117 in helping to pull the Pacific Coast Steamship Company

Pacific Coast Steamship Company

The Pacific Coast Steamship Company was an important early shipping company that operated steamships on the west coast of North America.-Organization and operations:...

 ship Curacao off Boulder Spit on Fish Egg Island in Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

.

Cosmos was retired from service in 1927 and sold for $565 (USD) that year.