''Megan'', formerly called ''GO Searcher'' is a

SpaceX Dragon American private space transportation company SpaceX has developed and produced several spacecraft named Dragon. The first family member, now referred to as Dragon 1, flew 23 cargo missions to the ISS between 2010 and 2020 before being retired ...

recovery vessel. It is one of the offshore supply ships operated by Guice Offshore. The other identical ship is '' Shannon''.

History

''Megan'' is the primary recovery vessel for the

SpaceX Dragon 2 Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, primarily for flights to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX has also launched Private spaceflight, private m ...

after the splashdown. Immediately after splashdown, fast small boats are launched to connect the capsule to the vessel, and the capsule is lifted on board with the large lifting frame installed on the stern. The astronauts can then exit the capsule. NASA has a requirement that this is completed within 60 minutes of splashdown. Facilities onboard include a helipad, a medical treatment unit, and extensive radar communication equipment. Between April and May 2019, ''GO Searcher'' was temporarily reassigned with ''

GO Navigator ''Shannon'', formerly called ''GO Navigator'', is an Platform supply vessel, offshore supply ship owned and operated by Guice Offshore, and currently deployed as one of the SpaceX Dragon/SpaceX Dragon 2, Dragon 2 recovery vessels along with ''Meg ...

'' to fairing recovery operations for the

ArabSat-6A Arabsat-6A is a Geostationary orbit, geostationary communications satellite operated by Arab Satellite Communications Organization, Arabsat. The satellite was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems on a modernized Lockheed Martin A2100, A2100 bus. ...

, and Starlink 0.9 missions. On August 2, 2020, Robert L. Behnken and

Douglas G. Hurley Douglas Gerald Hurley (born October 21, 1966) is an American engineer, former Marine Corps pilot and former NASA astronaut. He piloted Space Shuttle missions STS-127 (July 2009) and STS-135 (July 2011), the final flight of the Space Shuttle progr ...

returned to Earth, landing in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

, off the coast of

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

, Fla. ''GO Searchers sister ship, ''GO Navigator'', pulled the capsule onto her aft, in which Behnken and Hurley exited the capsule. On September 18, 2021, ''GO Searcher'' served as the recovery vessel for the

Inspiration4 Inspiration4 (stylized as Inspirati④n) was a 2021 human spaceflight operated by SpaceX on behalf of Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman. The mission launched the Crew Dragon ''Resilience'' on 16 September 2021 at 00:02:56 UTC from Kennedy Sp ...

mission, recovering its all-civilian crew from the Atlantic Ocean. In early 2022, the vessel was renamed ''Megan'' after

SpaceX Crew-2 SpaceX Crew-2 was the second operational flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the third overall crewed orbital flight of the Commercial Crew Program. The mission was launched on 23 April 2021 at 09:49:02 UTC, and docked to the Internationa ...

astronaut,

Megan McArthur Katherine Megan McArthur (born August 30, 1971) is an American oceanographer, engineer, and NASA astronaut. She has served as a Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) for both the Space Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS). Megan McArthur has fl ...

along with ''GO Navigator'' being renamed ''Shannon'' after

SpaceX Crew-1 SpaceX Crew-1 (was also known as USCV-1 or simply Crew-1) was the first operational crewed flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the maiden flight of the Crew Dragon ''Resilience'' spacecraft. It was also the second crewed orbital flight l ...

astronaut,

Shannon Walker Shannon Walker (born June 4, 1965) is an American physicist and a NASA astronaut selected in 2004. She launched on her first mission into space on June 25, 2010, onboard Soyuz TMA-19 and spent over 163 days in space. She returned to space for ...

. They are registered to Falcon Landing LLC, a SpaceX-linked company that also owns recovery ships ''Bob'' and ''Doug'' and

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The Bori ...

's private jet.

List of recovery missions

Incidents

* According to

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

, on May 9, 2020, while practicing recovering the

capsule, ''GO Searcher''s crew pulled a man from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Gallery

File:KSC-20190308-PH CSH01 0003.jpg, ''GO Searcher'', in the Atlantic Ocean, about 200 miles off Florida’s east coast, on March 8, 2019 File:SpaceX Demo-1 following splashdown (cropped).jpg,

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...

’s

Crew Dragon Demo-1 Crew Dragon Demo-1 (officially Crew Demo-1, SpaceX Demo-1, or Demonstration Mission-1) was the first orbital test of the SpaceX Dragon 2 , Dragon 2 spacecraft. This first spaceflight was an uncrewed mission that launched on 2 March 2019 at 07 ...

spacecraft aboard the company’s recovery vessel, ''GO Searcher'', following splashdown at 8:45 a.m. EST on March 8, 2019. File:Hurley Behnken Dragon Crew Extraction Rehearsal.jpg, On August 13, 2019,

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

astronauts

Doug Hurley Douglas Gerald Hurley (born October 21, 1966) is an American engineer, former Marine Corps pilot and former NASA astronaut. He piloted Space Shuttle missions STS-127 (July 2009) and STS-135 (July 2011), the final flight of the Space Shuttle progr ...

, left, and

Bob Behnken Robert Louis Behnken (; born July 28, 1970, in St. Ann, Missouri) is a NASA astronaut, engineer, and former Chief of the Astronaut Office. Behnken holds a Ph.D in mechanical engineering and the rank of colonel in the U.S. Air Force, where he se ...

on ''GO Searcher'', rehearsing

Crew Dragon Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, primarily for flights to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX has also launched private missions such as Insp ...

crew extraction with teams from NASA and

References

{{Authority control Ships built in the United States Ships built in Alabama SpaceX Dragon 2 Space capsule recovery ships