Megan, one of SpaceX’s two recovery ships, is pictured in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast while awaiting the splashdown of the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.
History
United States
Name
  • Megan (2022–present)
  • GO Searcher (2019–2022)
  • CGT Searcher (2017–2019)
  • HARVEY Otter (2014–2017)
  • CALLAIS Searcher (2013–2014)
NamesakeMegan McArthur
Owner
  • Falcon Landing LLC. (2022–present)
  • Guice Offshore (2013–2022)
Operator
  • SpaceX (2016–present)
  • Guice Offshore (2013–2016)
BuilderMaster Boat Builders, Coden, Alabama
Launched2009
Completed2010
In service2010
Identification
StatusIn service
Notes[1]
General characteristics
Class and typePlatform supply vessel
Tonnage
Length51.0 m (167 ft 4 in)
Beam12.0 m (39 ft 4 in)
Draught3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Depth3.6576 m (12 ft 0 in)
Decks1
Installed power1,750 HP
Propulsion2 x CAT 3508B Industrial Diesel Engines
Speed22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity32
Crew6
Notes[1]

Megan, formerly called GO Searcher is a SpaceX Dragon recovery vessel.[2] It is one of the offshore supply ships operated by Guice Offshore.[3] The other identical ship is Shannon.[4]

History

Megan is the primary recovery vessel for the SpaceX Dragon/SpaceX Dragon 2 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.[2][5]

Between April and May 2019, GO Searcher was temporarily reassigned with GO Navigator to fairing recovery operations for the ArabSat-6A, and Starlink 0.9 missions.

On August 2, 2020, Robert L. Behnken and Douglas G. Hurley returned to Earth, landing in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. GO Searcher's sister ship, GO Navigator, pulled the capsule onto her aft, in which Behnken and Hurley exited the capsule.[6]

On September 18, 2021, GO Searcher served as the recovery vessel for the Inspiration4 mission, recovering its all-civilian crew from the Atlantic Ocean.[7]

In early 2022, the vessel was renamed Megan after SpaceX Crew-2 astronaut, Megan McArthur along with GO Navigator being renamed Shannon after SpaceX Crew-1 astronaut, Shannon Walker. They are registered to Falcon Landing LLC, a SpaceX-linked company that also owns recovery ships Bob and Doug and Elon Musk's private jet.

List of recovery missions

Date Mission Role Type
8 March 2019 Crew Dragon Demo-1 Crew Dragon recovery support Catching
11 April 2019 ArabSat-6A Fairing recovery Non-Catching
24 May 2019 Starlink Fairing recovery Non-Catching
25 June 2019 STP-2 Fairing recovery Non-Catching
6 August 2019 Amos-17 Fairing recovery Non-Catching
11 November 2019 Starlink-2 Fairing recovery Non-Catching
19 January 2020 Crew Dragon in Flight abort test Crew Dragon recovery support Catching
11 March 2021 Starlink 20 Fairing recovery Non-Catching
14 March 2021 Starlink 21 Fairing recovery Non-Catching
26 May 2021 Starlink 28 Fairing recovery Non-Catching
6 June 2021 SXM-8 Fairing recovery Non-Catching
18 September 2021 Inspiration4 Crew Dragon recovery support Catching
1 October 2021 CRS-23 Cargo Dragon recovery support Catching
24 January 2022 CRS-24 Cargo Dragon recovery support Catching
25 April 2022 Axiom Mission 1 Crew Dragon recovery support Catching
20 August 2022 CRS-25 Cargo Dragon recovery support Catching
14 October 2022 Crew-4 Crew Dragon recovery support Catching
11 January 2023 CRS-26 Cargo Dragon recovery support Catching
31 May 2023 Axiom Mission 2 Crew Dragon recovery support Catching
4 September 2023 SpaceX Crew-6 Crew Dragon recovery support Catching

Incidents

References

  1. 1 2 "Advanced Masterdata for the Vessel Go Searcher". VesselTracker. 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  2. 1 2 "GO Searcher". SpaceXFleet. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  3. ↑ "GO SEARCHER Offshore Support Vessel". intelligence.marinelink.com. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  4. ↑ "Crew Dragon Recovery". SpaceXFleet. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  5. ↑ "Go Searcher – Commercial Crew Program". blogs.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  6. ↑ Chang, Kenneth (2020-08-02). "'Thanks for Flying SpaceX': NASA Astronauts Safely Splash Down After Journey From Orbit". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  7. ↑ "SpaceX's private Inspiration4 crew returns to Earth with historic splashdown off Florida coast". Space.com. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  8. ↑ Thompson, Amy (2020-05-10). "SpaceX recovery team rescues stranded boater during ocean recovery drills". TESLARATI. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  9. ↑ Speck, Emilee (2020-05-08). "Practicing retrieving astronaut spacecraft at sea, SpaceX vessel rescues stranded boater". WKMG. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
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