Space Space Capsule recovery USN

[Bombardier]

Posted in United States Navy thread by @bdpopeye

USS Lake Champlain (CV 39) known as "The Champ"...never received the SCB-27 modification for an angle deck. She remained a straight deck carrier her whole career.

USS Lake Champlain (CV 39) known as "The Champ"...

"The Champ" was known for recovering NASA astronauts...

Astronaut Alan Shepard walks across the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain. Shepard was the first American in space on this mission."
CDR Shepard was hoisted off his spacecraft into HSS-1N Seabat helicopter from Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron (HS) 5 "Nitghtdippers."

On May 5, 1961, CDR Alan B. Shepard Jr. became the first American to fly into space. His Freedom 7 "Mercury" capsule was launched suborbitally to an altitude of over 116 miles, 303 statute miles down range from Cape Canaveral. After a 15.5-minute flight, the spacecraft splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean where USS Lake Champlain (CVS-39) awaited its arrival. The capsule came through the entire flight in such excellent shape that the engineers who examined it decided that it could easily be used again. The doctors also assessed that the astronaut was in excellent shape, physically and psychologically and "...could be used again too."

The Gemini 5 spacecraft is brought aboard USS Lake Champlain, the recovery ship, after a successful landing at the end of its mission, August 29, 1965.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Photograph # S65-46630

Astronauts Charles Conrad Jr. (left) and L. Gordon Cooper Jr. walk across the deck of USS Lake Champlain, the recovery aircraft carrier, following splashdown and recovery from the ocean, August 29, 1965 (Gemini 5).

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Photograph # S65-51442

 

[Bombardier]

And more form @bdpopeye

USS Hornet (CVS-12) July 24, 1969—The Apollo 11 Crew Boards U.S.S. Hornet Aircraft Carrier. The Apollo 11 mission, the first manned lunar mission, launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. Aboard the space craft were astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, Command Module (CM) pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module (LM) pilot. The CM, piloted by Michael Collins remained in a parking orbit around the Moon while the LM, named Eagle, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, landed on the Moon. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew collected 47 pounds of lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth. Shown here are the three astronauts (L-R) Aldrin, Armstrong, and Collins leaving the recovery helicopter aboard U.S.S. Hornet after their splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Wearing biological isolation garments donned before leaving the spacecraft, the three went directly into the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) on the aircraft carrier. The MQF served as their home for 21 days following the mission. With the success of Apollo 11, the national objective to land men on the Moon and return them safely to Earth had been accomplished. Photo courtesy of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Collection....Bill Gonyo

The Apollo 8Command Module on the deck of the USS Yorktown (CVS-10) after being recovered on 27 December 1968.

USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) crewmen hoist the Apollo 13 Command Module aboard ship. The Apollo 13 crewmen were already aboard Iwo Jima when this photo was taken. The Apollo 13 spacecraft splashed down at 12:07:44 p.m., 17 April 1970 in the South Pacific Ocean.
NASA photo from JSC Digital Image Collection # S70-35632 & GRIN (Great Images In Nasa) GPN-2000-001105

 

[Bombardier]

And more form @bdpopeye

Astronaut Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, pilot of the Mercury spacecraft, Liberty Bell 7, arrives aboard the recovery ship, USS Randolph (CVS-15), 21 July 1961, following his 15-minute 37-second suborbital space mission. He is flanked by military medical officers. Grissom's capsule sank soon after splashdown and was not recovered until nearly forty years later.

Reference Numbers:
Center: Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Center Number: S61-02894
Great Images In NASA (GRIN) DataBase Number: GPN-2000-001332.

Gemini 3 spacecraft being hoisted on board, 23 March 1965. LCDR John W. Young and Maj. Virgil I. Grissom, in Molly Brown, splashed down some 50 miles from Intrepid after history's first controlled re-entry into the earth's atmosphere ended the pair's nearly perfect three-orbit flight. A Navy helicopter lifted the astronauts from the spacecraft and flew them to Intrepid for medical examination and debriefing. Later Intrepid retrieved Molly Brown and returned the spaceship and astronauts to Cape Kennedy. This was Project Gemini's first manned flight.

 

[Bombardier]

These are awesome photos @bdpopeye and fit well into the 'Space Flight' Forum
Brilliant

 

[bdpopeye]

These are awesome photos @bdpopeye and fit well into the 'Space Flight' Forum
Brilliant

Thanks gents! I'm still on vacation until about the 5th-7th of December..

I don't know if Project Orion will ever come to past but the USN is ready for it..

US Navy & NASA Team...Project Orion


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PACIFIC OCEAN (Oct. 31, 2016) U.S. Navy Divers assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 3 and Mobile Dive and Salvage Company 3-1 prepare to tow a test capsule known as the boilerplate-testing article, belonging to NASA's Orion program, to the amphibious transport dock USS San Diego (LPD 22) in the Pacific Ocean. The ship is conducting recovery operations with NASA's Orion program; they are testing a new towing technique utilizing NASA and naval technology with the goal of reducing manning and increasing safety. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Torrey W. Lee/Released)

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PACIFIC OCEAN (Oct. 28, 2016) Navy divers assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 3 and Mobile Dive and Salvage Company 3-1 conduct towing techniques and safety procedures for the test capsule called the boilerplate-testing article (BTA), belonging to NASA's Orion program, in the Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Alfred A. Coffield/Released)

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PACIFIC OCEAN (Oct. 30, 2016) Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan Mead, a Navy diver assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 3 and Mobile Dive and Salvage Company 3-1, conducts towing operations and safety procedures for the test capsule called the boilerplate-testing article (BTA), belonging to NASA's Orion program, in the Pacific Ocean. NASA is testing the BTA with help from the USS San Diego (LPD 22) utilizing NASA and Naval technology with the goal of reducing manning and increasing safety. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Alfred A. Coffield/Released)

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PACIFIC OCEAN (Oct. 28, 2016) Chief Petty Officer Mike Swist, a Navy diver assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 3 and Mobile Dive and Salvage Company 3-1, radios USS San Diego (LPD 22) during a towing operation for the test capsule called the boilerplate-testing article (BTA), belonging to NASA's Orion program, in the Pacific Ocean.(U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Alfred A. Coffield?Released)

 

[bdpopeye]

US Navy & NASA TEAM...Project ORION


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PACIFIC OCEAN (Oct. 27, 2016) U.S. Navy Chief Warrant Officer 4 Kelvin Dooley, the ship's bos'n aboard the amphibious transport dock USS San Diego (LPD 22), inspects the ship's well deck before starting towing operations with NASA's Orion program. The ship is conducting recovery operations with NASA's Orion program; they are testing a new towing technique utilizing NASA and naval technology with the goal of reducing manning and increasing safety. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Torrey W. Lee/Released)

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PACIFIC OCEAN (Oct. 27, 2016) U.S. Navy divers assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 3 and Mobile Dive and Salvage Company 3-1 tow a boilerplate-testing article, belonging to NASA's Orion program, from the amphibious transport dock USS San Diego (LPD 22) into the Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Torrey W. Lee/Released)

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PACIFIC OCEAN (Oct. 27, 2016) Sailors assigned to the amphibious transport dock ship USS San Diego (LPD 22) work with NASA personnel to assess towing techniques for the testing capsule called a boilerplate-testing article (BTA), belonging to NASA's Orion program, in the Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Alfred A. Coffield/Released)

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PACIFIC OCEAN (Oct. 27, 2016) Sailors aboard the amphibious transport dock USS San Diego (LPD 22) work with Navy divers assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 3 and Mobile Dive and Salvage Company 3-1 to test a new towing technique with NASA's Orion program in the Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Torrey W. Lee/Released)

 

[bdpopeye]

Navy personnel work as NASA's Orion space capsule is prepared to be unloaded from the USS Anchorage at Naval Base San Diego Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, in San Diego. NASA's new spacecraft returned to dry land Monday in Southern California after a test flight that ended with a plunge in the Pacific Ocean. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

NASA's Orion space capsule to the dock, up a ramp from the USS Anchorage at Naval Base San Diego Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, in San Diego. NASA's new spacecraft returned to dry land Monday in Southern California after a test flight that ended with a plunge in the Pacific Ocean. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

NASA astronaut Suni Williams, second from right, poses for a picture with Navy Lt. Lydia von Gohren in front of the Orion space capsule Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, in San Diego. NASA's new Orion spacecraft returned to dry land Monday in Southern California after a test flight that ended with a plunge in the Pacific Ocean. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

 

[bdpopeye]

Orion module is hauled aboard USS Anchorage (LPD 23)

The 11-foot tall Orion slowed from 20,000 mph to 20 mph during its return to Earth. The spacecraft experienced heat up to 4,000 degrees. — NASA

Orion was reeled into the well deck of Anchorage. — NASA

Orion enroute to Naval Base San Diego

The Orion spacecraft will be delivered to San Diego on Sunday or early Monday by Anchorage, the amphibious warship that retrieved the unmanned capsule off the coast of Baja California on Friday.

NASA has invited the news media to view the 11-foot tall Orion on Monday at Naval Base San Diego, the homeport of Anchorage. The ship recovered the spacecraft about 600 miles southwest of San Diego on Friday during a splash down that drew big cheers from the vessel's crew. The splashdown also was recorded by NASA Ikhana, an unmanned aerial vehicle developed at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems in San Diego.

Monday's viewing is not open to the general public.

"The Apollo spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific and were brought to San Diego -- mostly North Island -- by the Navy. So this continues a tradition that goes back to the early days of the space program," said Francis French, director of education at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park. "The Navy has always been a huge part of supporting NASA's splash down operations."

French said Friday's maiden flight of Orion "is a very exciting first step. We have a very long way to go -- many years -- before people start flying in the spacecraft. And there has to be a lot of funding and political will to do it. But it represents the clearest chance of getting astronauts to Mars in our life times."

PACIFIC OCEAN (Dec. 5, 2014) Sailors from the amphibious transport dock ship USS Anchorage (LPD 23) and Navy divers assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 11, Mobile Dive and Salvage Company 11-7, attach a line to the Orion crew module in order to move the module inside of Anchorage well-deck. Anchorage is conducting the first exploration test flight for the NASA Orion Program. EFT-1 is the fifth at sea testing of the Orion Crew Module using a Navy well deck recovery method. (U.S. Navy photos by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Corey Green, U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Gary Keen/Released, U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Christopher A. Veloicaza/Released)

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[Bombardier]

A Marine helicopter picks up Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard and his Freedom 7 capsule in the Atlantic Ocean after his first American sub-orbital flight on May 5, 1961.

Engineers said the spacecraft was in such great shape it could be reused. Doctors said Shepard could be used again too. Only 11 minutes after landing, he was onboard the U.S. Navy carrier Lake Champlain, where he took a congratulatory phone call from President Kennedy.

Image Credit: NASA

On May 5, 1961 Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. arrives at Grand Bahamas Island and is greeted by astronaut Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom after the first American suborbital flight.

Photo Credit: NASA

 

[bdpopeye]

Sigma 7 Project Mercury Space Capsule is towed toward USS Kearsarge (CVS-33) for pickup, after its orbital flight with astronaut (Commander, USN) Walter Schirra on board, 3 October 1962. Note rescue swimmer on the capsule's flotation collar, and a Kearsarge 26-foot motor whaleboat standing by.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center (# NH 97404).

The NASA Gemini-3 spacecraft with flotation collar is hoisted aboard the USN Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Intrepid during recovery operations after a Gemini-Titan 3 test flight March 23, 1965.

 

[bdpopeye]

Gemini 4 — NASA personnel aboard the USS Wasp(CVS 18) inspect the Gemini 4 spacecraft after it was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean on this date in June 7th 1965.

AstronautsJames McDivitt and Edward H. White, II circled the Earth 66 times in four days, making it the first US flight to approach the five-day flight of the Soviet Vostok 5.

 

[bdpopeye]

s65-18528 by Photograph Curator, on Flickr

(23 March 1965) --- USS Intrepid (CVS-11) pulls up alongside the Gemini-3 spacecraft during recovery operations following the successful Gemini-Titan 3 flight. Navy swimmers stand on the spacecraft's flotation collar waiting to hook a hoist line to the Gemini-3. Courtesy of the NASA Photograph Collection.

s66-26037 by Photograph Curator, on Flickr

(16 March 1966) --- The Gemini-8 spacecraft, with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and David R. Scott still aboard, is hoisted aboard the destroyer USS Leonard F. Mason (DD 852). Trouble with the Gemini-8 Orbit Attitude and Maneuvering System (OAMS) forced an early termination of the mission. Photo credit: NASA

s70-35632 by Photograph Curator, on Flickr

(17 April 1970) --- Crewmen aboard the USS Iwo Jima (LPH 12), prime recovery ship for the Apollo 13 mission, guide the Command Module (CM) atop a dolly onboard the ship. The CM is connected by strong cable to a hoist on the vessel. The Apollo 13 crewmembers, astronauts James A. Lovell Jr., commander; John L. Swigert Jr., command module pilot; and Fred W. Haise Jr., lunar module pilot, were already aboard the USS Iwo Jima when this photograph was made. The CM, with the three tired crewmen aboard, splashed down at 12:07:44 p.m. (CST), April 17, 1970, only about four miles from the recovery vessel in the South Pacific Ocean. Courtesy of the NASA Photograph Collection.

428-GX-USN 1142339 by Photograph Curator, on Flickr

: Pacific Ocean. The Apollo Twelve capsule is hoisted aboard an elevator of USS Hornet (CVS 12) following splash down. Photographed by PH3 Howard on November 24, 1969. Photographed from small reference card. U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

 

[Forrest White]

Orion made one orbit around the Earth in a low-earth orbit, after which it began to move in a high elliptical orbit, moving away from the Earth at a distance of 5.8 thousand kilometers. NASA emphasizes that Orion is the first spacecraft since the end of the Apollo mission in 1972, designed to send a person into distant space. The United States plans that this particular spacecraft will send a person to Mars or to an asteroid in the future. Orion's first manned flight is slated for 2021.

 

[BravoZulu]

USS Kearsarge (CVS-33) during the recovery of the the Sigma 7 capsule of the Mercury-Atlas 8 mission on 3 October 1962

 

[bdpopeye]

428-GX-K-109709 by Photograph Curator, on Flickr

July 25th, 1975 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. A crane lowers the Apollo capsule to the pier after unloading the spacecraft from USS New Orleans (LPH-11). The ship retrieved the capsule on Thursday, 24th, following its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. During the flight the Apollo linked up with the Soviet Soyuz capsule. Photographed by PH1 William F. Fair, July 25, 1975. U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

s71-19475 by Photograph Curator, on Flickr

(9 Feb. 1971) --- The Apollo 14 crewmembers sit in a life raft beside their Command Module (CM) in the South Pacific Ocean as they await a U.S. Navy helicopter, which will take them aboard the USS New Orleans (LPH 11), prime recovery ship. The crew men are, from left to right, astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander; Stuart A. Roosa, command module pilot; and Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot. Two U.S. Navy underwater demolition team swimmers (one partially visible in right upper corner) assist in the recovery operations. The Apollo 14 spacecraft splashed down at 3:04:39 p.m. (CST), Feb. 9, 1971, approximately 765 nautical miles from American Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean. Courtesy of the NASA Photograph Collection.

428-GX-USN 1142339 by Photograph Curator, on Flickr

Pacific Ocean. The Apollo Twelve capsule is hoisted aboard an elevator of USS Hornet (CVS 12) following splash down. Photographed by PH3 Howard on November 24, 1969. Photographed from small reference card. U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

s66-38890 by Photograph Curator, on Flickr

(6 June 1966) --- The Gemini-9A spacecraft, with astronauts Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene A. Cernan still inside, in water as the aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CVS 18), the recovery ship, comes alongside to recover the astronauts and their spacecraft. Gemini-9A splashed down only 3.5 miles from the recovery ship at 9 a.m. (EST), June 6, 1966, 345 miles east of Cape Kennedy, to conclude a 72-hour, 21-minute mission in space. Photo credit: NASA

428-GX-K 34660 by Photograph Curator, on Flickr

Gemini 12 capsule lowered into cradle onboard USS Wasp (CVS 18) shortly after splash down in the Atlantic Ocean. Photographed by PH3 Donovan, November 15, 1966. Photographed from small reference card. U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

s65-18528 by Photograph Curator, on Flickr

(23 March 1965) --- USS Intrepid (CVS-11) pulls up alongside the Gemini-3 spacecraft during recovery operations following the successful Gemini-Titan 3 flight. Navy swimmers stand on the spacecraft's flotation collar waiting to hook a hoist line to the Gemini-3.0.

s65-32962 by Photograph Curator, on Flickr

(7 June 1965) --- The Gemini-4 (GT-4) spacecraft is hoisted aboard the recovery ship USS Wasp (CV 18) during recovery operations following the successful four-day mission. NASA Photograph Collection.