The US Navy San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock (LPD) USS John P. Murtha has been selected to serve as the recovery ship for the Orion spacecraft and its crew upon their return from the NASA Artemis II space mission.
The Artemis II mission is the first crewed flight of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, sending four astronauts on an approximately 10-day journey that will take them beyond the Moon. This mission is the first manned voyage to the vicinity of the Moon in over 50 years.
Upon completion of their mission, the Orion capsule will splash down in the Pacific Ocean, where Murtha and her crew will be prepared to recover the astronauts and the spacecraft.
The navy said the LPD has unique advantages, including a well deck, a helicopter pad, onboard medical facilities, and communication capabilities needed to support the mission. The platform gives NASA the ability to recover the Orion space capsule and collect critical data to help ensure it is ready to recover the astronauts and capsule during future Artemis missions.
MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopters from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23 (HSC-23) will provide imagery support for NASA by tracking the Orion space capsule as it travels through Earth’s atmosphere. After splashdown, HSC-23 helicopters will recover the astronauts once they exit the capsule and bring them to the LPD for assessment and then transport them to shore.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group One (EODGRU-1) will provide navy divers to recover and transport the Orion space capsule from the ocean to the ship’s well deck. In addition to the Navy divers, EODGRU-1 will support the recovery mission with a dive medical team to assess and assist the astronauts following their exit from the capsule.