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	Department of Defense completes Underway Recovery Test 11 with NASA
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        <h1 class="title">Department of Defense completes Underway Recovery Test 11 with NASA</h1>
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                 alt="U.S. Navy Divers assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 1 help NASA Astronaut U.S. Navy Capt. Victor J. Glover Jr. out of a crew module test article (CMTA) during Underway Recovery Test 11, Feb. 25, 2024. In preparation for NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission, which will send four astronauts in Orion beyond the Moon, NASA and the Department of Defense will conduct a series of tests to demonstrate and evaluate the processes, procedures and hardware used in recovery operations for crewed lunar missions. Amphibious transport docks, like USS San Diego, have unique capabilities that make it an ideal partner to support NASA, including embarking helicopters, launching and recovering small boats, three dimensional air search radar and advanced medical facilities. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Connor Burns)"
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                <div class="image-caption">U.S. Navy Divers assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 1 help NASA Astronaut U.S. Navy Capt. Victor J. Glover Jr. out of a crew module test article (CMTA) during Underway Recovery Test 11, Feb. 25, 2024. In preparation for NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission, which will send four astronauts in Orion beyond the Moon, NASA and the Department of Defense will conduct a series of tests to demonstrate and evaluate the processes, procedures and hardware used in recovery operations for crewed lunar missions. Amphibious transport docks, like USS San Diego, have unique capabilities that make it an ideal partner to support NASA, including embarking helicopters, launching and recovering small boats, three dimensional air search radar and advanced medical facilities. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Connor Burns)</div>
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                 alt="U.S. Navy Sailors assigned to San Antonio class amphibious ship USS San Diego (LPD 22) and NASA personnel launch a crew module test article (CMTA) for night-time training while underway for NASA’s Underway Recovery Test 11, Feb. 22, 2024. In preparation for NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission, which will send four astronauts in Orion beyond the Moon, NASA and the Department of Defense will conduct a series of tests to demonstrate and evaluate the processes, procedures, and hardware used in recovery operations for crewed lunar missions. The U.S. Navy has many unique capabilities that make it an ideal partner to support NASA, including its amphibious ships with the ability to embark helicopters, launch and recover small boats, three-dimensional air search radar and advanced medical facilities. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Olivia Rucker)"
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                <div class="image-caption">U.S. Navy Sailors assigned to San Antonio class amphibious ship USS San Diego (LPD 22) and NASA personnel launch a crew module test article (CMTA) for night-time training while underway for NASA’s Underway Recovery Test 11, Feb. 22, 2024. In preparation for NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission, which will send four astronauts in Orion beyond the Moon, NASA and the Department of Defense will conduct a series of tests to demonstrate and evaluate the processes, procedures, and hardware used in recovery operations for crewed lunar missions. The U.S. Navy has many unique capabilities that make it an ideal partner to support NASA, including its amphibious ships with the ability to embark helicopters, launch and recover small boats, three-dimensional air search radar and advanced medical facilities. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Olivia Rucker)</div>
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                 alt="U.S. Navy Sailors stabilize NASA’s crew module test article (CMTA) during rehearsal for launching from the well deck aboard San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS San Diego (LPD 22) during Underway Recovery Test 11, Feb. 22, 2024. In preparation for NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission, which will send four astronauts in Orion beyond the Moon, NASA and the Department of Defense will conduct a series of tests to demonstrate and evaluate the processes, procedures, and hardware used in recovery operations for crewed lunar missions. The U.S. Navy has many unique capabilities that make it an ideal partner to support NASA, including its amphibious ships with the ability to embark helicopters, launch and recover small boats, three-dimensional air search radar and advanced medical facilities. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brandon Woods)"
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                <div class="image-caption">U.S. Navy Sailors stabilize NASA’s crew module test article (CMTA) during rehearsal for launching from the well deck aboard San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS San Diego (LPD 22) during Underway Recovery Test 11, Feb. 22, 2024. In preparation for NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission, which will send four astronauts in Orion beyond the Moon, NASA and the Department of Defense will conduct a series of tests to demonstrate and evaluate the processes, procedures, and hardware used in recovery operations for crewed lunar missions. The U.S. Navy has many unique capabilities that make it an ideal partner to support NASA, including its amphibious ships with the ability to embark helicopters, launch and recover small boats, three-dimensional air search radar and advanced medical facilities. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brandon Woods)</div>
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                 alt="Department of Defense personnel from USS San Diego (LPD 22), Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Expeditionary Mobile Unit 1, First Air Force, Detachment 3, and 45th Space Launch Delta Weather Squadron pose for a photo with NASA personnel and the crew of Artemis II on the ship’s flight deck while underway for NASA’s Underway Recovery Test 11, Feb. 26, 2024. In preparation for NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission, which will send four astronauts in Orion beyond the Moon, NASA and the Department of Defense will conduct a series of tests to demonstrate and evaluate the processes, procedures, and hardware used in recovery operations for crewed lunar missions. The U.S. Navy has many unique capabilities that make it an ideal partner to support NASA, including its amphibious ships with the ability to embark helicopters, launch and recover small boats, three-dimensional air search radar and advanced medical facilities. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Olivia Rucker)"
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                <div class="image-caption">Department of Defense personnel from USS San Diego (LPD 22), Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Expeditionary Mobile Unit 1, First Air Force, Detachment 3, and 45th Space Launch Delta Weather Squadron pose for a photo with NASA personnel and the crew of Artemis II on the ship’s flight deck while underway for NASA’s Underway Recovery Test 11, Feb. 26, 2024. In preparation for NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission, which will send four astronauts in Orion beyond the Moon, NASA and the Department of Defense will conduct a series of tests to demonstrate and evaluate the processes, procedures, and hardware used in recovery operations for crewed lunar missions. The U.S. Navy has many unique capabilities that make it an ideal partner to support NASA, including its amphibious ships with the ability to embark helicopters, launch and recover small boats, three-dimensional air search radar and advanced medical facilities. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Olivia Rucker)</div>
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    <div><b>By Courtesy Story,</b> <span class="date">/ Published Feb. 28, 2024</span></div>
    <span class="dateline-text">PACIFIC OCEAN, </span>
    <p><span style="font-size:larger;">NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Landing and Recovery team and the Department of Defense successfully completed the second recovery test for the crewed Artemis II mission aboard the amphibious transport dock USS San Diego (LPD 22) off the coast of San Diego, Feb. 28.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">Underway Recovery Test 11 was the eleventh in a series of tests and the first time the Department of Defense and NASA completed a full recovery simulation with the Artemis II Flight Crew.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">“The U.S. Navy has many unique capabilities that make it an ideal partner to support NASA. Amphibious transport dock ships, such as ours, give NASA the ability to recover the capsule and collect critical data to help make sure everything is ready to recover the astronauts and capsule during future Artemis missions,” said Capt. David Walton, commanding officer of USS San Diego. “Our combined NASA and Department of Defense team has gone through extensive training to make sure we recover our astronauts and Orion safely.”</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">Underway Recovery Test 11 allowed NASA and the Department of Defense to practice operational procedures for Artemis II, including timing of crew extraction from the capsule to the ship’s medical bay and day-and-night recovery procedures to support certification of personnel and processes for Artemis II mission.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">Artemis II astronauts U.S. Navy Capt. Reid Wiseman, U.S. Navy Capt. Victor Glover, Christina Hammock Koch, and Jeremy Hansen embarked the ship for Underway Recovery Test 11.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">“This crew is really setting the foundation for the whole operation -- all other forces are welcomed onboard and we operate as a team, but it’s really the culture of the ship that leads to the success of this mission,” said Wiseman. “Being back on a Navy ship, being at sea, seeing everyone smiling, it has been a real highlight for me.”</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">Working in support of U.S. Space Command, additional U.S. Navy units included Expeditionary Strike Group 3, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Expeditionary Mobile Unit 1, and Amphibious Construction Battalion 1, with support from U.S. Air Force’s First Air Force, Detachment 3, and U.S. Space Force’s 45th Space Launch Delta Weather Squadron.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">After the 2022 successful recovery of the Orion spacecraft from the Artemis I mission using the amphibious transport dock USS Portland (LPD 27), and with the addition of crew for the Artemis II mission, the recovery teams modified their timelines and procedures to ensure the astronauts will be safely on the recovery ship within two hours after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">Once the crew splashes down, a group of Navy divers will approach Orion and ensure it is safe for the astronauts to exit the spacecraft. The divers will then open the spacecraft hatch and help the astronauts exit one by one onto an inflatable “front porch.” This raft wraps around the capsule and allows for the crew to be picked up via helicopter and flown back to the recovery ship. Once the astronauts are on board the recovery ship, teams will secure Orion with a series of lines and slowly tow it back inside the ship, just as they did during the Artemis I mission.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">During the test, the team practiced the Artemis II recovery procedures, releasing and recovering the crew module test article, a full-scale mock-up of Orion.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">Prior to Underway Recovery Test 11, Navy dive teams were trained at NASA Johnson Space Center’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, a large pool where astronauts train for spacewalks and engineers refine procedures.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">"Each time we train for this underway recovery we learn something new," said Senior Chief Navy Diver Ryan Crider, who leads the team of divers assigned to Underway Recovery Test 11. "For my team, practicing our procedures in different conditions and environments helps to build our confidence and proficiency and prepares us to be successful when it matters most."</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">The recovery team will capture lessons learned and apply them to future underway tests to make sure they are ready to recover the Artemis II crew and bring them home safely.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">“Previous Underway Recovery Tests have perfected the procedures and techniques used by NASA and the DoD to recover the Orion crew module from the water,” said Lt. Col. Kevin Pieper, First Air Force, Detachment 3 Artemis Program director. “Underway Recovery Test 11 made the next key step by incorporating the Artemis II crew into the operation to finalize the methods that will safely recover the astronauts following their mission to the moon.”</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">As the Department of Defense’s Human Space Flight Support manager, U.S. Space Command is responsible for the terrestrial rescue and recovery of NASA-sponsored astronauts and spacecraft for the Artemis program.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">“The DoD has been conducting human space flight support operations for over six decades with each new mission presenting new challenges to overcome,” said Pieper. “This underway recovery test emphasizes the vital relationships between NASA, U.S. Space Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Navy, and Air Forces Space, all of whom play an important role in advancing spaceflight in the 21st Century and laying the foundation for future human exploration of the moon, Mars, and beyond.”</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">Expeditionary Strike Group 3 comprises three amphibious squadrons, 16 amphibious warships, and eight naval support elements including approximately 18,000 active-duty and reserve Sailors and Marines. As the deputy commander for amphibious and littoral warfare, U.S. 3rd Fleet, the Expeditionary Strike Group 3 commander also oversees Mine Countermeasures Group 3 and the 16 littoral combat ships under Littoral Combat Ship Squadrons 1 and 3.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">Expeditionary Strike Group 3 is postured in support of U.S. 3rd Fleet as a globally responsive and scalable naval command element, capable of generating, deploying, and employing naval forces and formations for crisis and contingency response, forward presence, and major combat operations focusing on amphibious operations, humanitarian and disaster relief and support to defense civil authorities, and expeditionary logistics.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">For more information on Underway Recovery Test 11, please visit:</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:larger;">https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/URT11</span></p>
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