In preparation for the launch of NASA’s Orion spacecraft, a joint NASA and Department of Defense team spent a week aboard San Diego’s USS Somerset off the coast of California to practice recovery procedures.
From March 25-31, the crew successfully completed Underway Recovery Test 12. The team is now certified to recover the Orion spacecraft as part of the upcoming Artemis II test flight — a 10-day orbit around the moon.
During the simulated capsule recovery, boats deployed from the Somerset after the command, “Splashdown!”
Navy divers and independent duty corpsmen with Explosive Ordnance Disposal Expeditionary Support Unit 1 surrounded the crew module test article and constructed an orange buoyant ledge, known as the “front porch,” around its edges.
MH-60S Seahawks from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23 lowered fast ropes, enabling crew members to rappel down to the floating capsule.
Astronauts participating in the underway training were extracted one by one from the front porch. The helicopters transported them to the ship’s flight deck, where naval air crewmen and hospital corpsmen awaited their arrival, ready to escort the astronauts to the medical ward for assessment.
“Navy medicine has accustomed us to being adaptable. We are trained to work with many different people across all terrains,” said Cmdr. Matthew Bidlack, officer in charge of Fleet Surgical Team 1. “During URT-12, we integrated multiple medical teams that don’t normally work together—many of which don’t typically operate on ships—with flawless cohesion.”
Artemis II astronaut and U.S. Navy Capt. Victor Glover embarked the ship for Underway Recovery Test 12.
“This puts my two loves together, space and the Navy. I am really in my happy place here,” said Glover.
