For aircraft landing on water, see Water landing.

Splashdown is the method of landing a spacecraft or launch vehicle in a body of water, usually by parachute. This has been the primary recovery method of American capsules including NASA's Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Orion along with the private SpaceX Dragon. It is also possible for the Boeing Starliner, Russian Soyuz, and the Chinese Shenzhou crewed capsules to land in water in case of contingency. NASA recovered the Space Shuttle solid rocket boosters (SRBs) via splashdown, as is done for Rocket Lab's Electron first stage.

As the name suggests, the vehicle parachutes into an ocean or other large body of water. Due to its low density and viscosity, water cushions the spacecraft enough that there is no need for a braking rocket to slow the final descent as is the case with Russian and Chinese crewed space capsules or airbags as is the case with the Starliner.[1]

The American practice came in part because American launch sites are on the coastline and launch primarily over water.[2] Russian launch sites such as Baikonur Cosmodrome are far inland, and most early launch aborts would descend on land.

History

The splashdown method of landing was used for Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo (including Skylab, which used Apollo capsules) missions, and is used for Artemis missions. Soyuz 23 unintentionally landed on a freezing lake with slushy patches of ice during a snowstorm.[3][4]

On early Mercury flights, a helicopter attached a cable to the capsule, lifted it from the water and delivered it to a nearby ship. This was changed after the sinking of Liberty Bell 7. All later Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules had a flotation collar (similar to a rubber life raft) attached to the spacecraft to increase their buoyancy. The spacecraft would then be brought alongside a ship and lifted onto deck by crane.

After the flotation collar is attached, a hatch on the spacecraft is usually opened. At that time, some astronauts decide to be hoisted aboard a helicopter for a ride to the recovery ship and some decided to stay with the spacecraft and be lifted aboard ship via crane. All Gemini and Apollo flights (Apollos 7 to 17) used the former, while Mercury missions from Mercury 6 to Mercury 9, as well as all Skylab missions and Apollo-Soyuz used the latter, especially the Skylab flights as to preserve all medical data. During the Gemini and Apollo programs, NASA used MV Retriever for the astronauts to practice water egress.

Apollo 11 was America's first Moon landing mission and marked the first time that humans walked on the surface of another planetary body. The possibility of the astronauts bringing pathogens from the Moon back to Earth was remote, but not ruled out. To contain any possible contaminants at the scene of the splashdown, the astronauts donned special Biological Isolation Garments and the outside of the suits were scrubbed prior to the astronauts being hoisted aboard USS Hornet and escorted safely inside a Mobile Quarantine Facility.[5]

Both the SpaceX Dragon 1 and Dragon 2 capsules were designed to use the splashdown method of landing.[a] The original cargo Dragon splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California. At the request of NASA, both the crew and cargo variations of the Dragon 2 capsule splash down off the coast of Florida, either in the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico.[6][7]

The early design concept for Orion (then known as the Crew Exploration Vehicle) featured recovery on land using a combination of parachutes and airbags, although it was also designed to make a contingency splashdown if needed. Due to weight considerations, the airbag design concept was dropped for Orion, and it conducts landings via splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.[8]

Disadvantages

Perhaps the most dangerous aspect is the possibility of the spacecraft flooding and sinking. For example, when the hatch of Gus Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 capsule blew prematurely, the capsule sank and Grissom almost drowned. Since the spacecraft's flooding will occur from a location in its hull where it ruptures first, it is important to determine the location on the hull that experiences the highest loading.[9] This location along the impacting side is determined by the surrounding 'air cushion' layer, which deforms the water surface before the moment of impact, and results in a non-trivial geometry of the liquid surface during first touch-down.[10][11][12] Soyuz 23 was dragged under a frozen lake by its parachutes. The crew became incapacitated by carbon dioxide and were rescued after a nine-hour recovery operation.[13]

If the capsule comes down far from any recovery forces, the crew may be stranded at sea for an extended period of time. As an example, Scott Carpenter in Aurora 7 overshot the assigned landing zone by 400 kilometers (250 mi). These recovery operation mishaps can be mitigated by placing several vessels on standby in different locations, but this can be an expensive option.

Exposure to salt water can have adverse effects on vehicles intended for reuse, such as Dragon.[14]

Launch vehicles

Some reusable launch vehicles recover components via splashdown. This was first seen with the Space Shuttle SRBs, with STS-1 launching in 1981. Out of 135 launches, NASA recovered all but two sets of SRBs.[15]

SpaceX has conducted propulsive splashdowns of the Falcon 9 first stage, Super Heavy booster, and Starship spacecraft. These vehicles are designed to land on land or modified barges and do not always survive intact after tipping over in the water; SpaceX has mainly conducted propulsive splashdowns for development flights. After the launch of CRS-16, the booster experienced a control issue and splashed down in the ocean instead of making an intended landing at Landing Zone 1.[16]

Rocket Lab intended to catch the first stage of their Electron rocket with a helicopter as it descended under parachute, but abandoned this idea in favor of parachute splashdown. In 2020, Rocket Lab completed their first booster recovery.[17]

List of spacecraft splashdowns

Crewed spacecraft

SpacecraftAgencyLanding dateCoordinatesRecovery shipMiss distance (km)Reference
1Freedom 7NASAMay 5, 196127°13.7′N 75°53′WUSS Lake Champlain5.6 km (3.5 mi)[18]
2Liberty Bell 7NASAJuly 21, 196127°32′N 75°44′WUSS Randolph9.3 km (5.8 mi)[19]
3Friendship 7NASAFebruary 20, 196221°26′N 68°41′WUSS Noa
(USS Randolph**)		74[20]
4Aurora 7NASAMay 24, 196219°27′N 63°59′WUSS John R. Pierce
(USS Intrepid**)		400[21]
5Sigma 7NASAOctober 3, 196232°06′N 174°28′WUSS Kearsarge7.4[22]
6Faith 7NASAMay 16, 196327°20′N 176°26′WUSS Kearsarge8.1[23]
7Gemini 3NASAMarch 23, 196522°26′N 70°51′WUSS Intrepid111[24]
8Gemini 4NASAJune 7, 196527°44′N 74°11′WUSS Wasp81[25]
9Gemini 5NASAAugust 29, 196529°44′N 69°45′WUSS Lake Champlain270[26]
10Gemini 7NASADecember 18, 196525°25′N 70°07′WUSS Wasp12[27]
11Gemini 6ANASADecember 16, 196523°35′N 67°50′WUSS Wasp13[28]
12Gemini 8NASAMarch 17, 196625°14′N 136°0′EUSS Leonard F. Mason
(USS Boxer**)		2[29]
13Gemini 9ANASAJune 6, 196627°52′N 75°0′WUSS Wasp0.7[30]
14Gemini 10NASAJuly 21, 196626°45′N 71°57′WUSS Guadalcanal6[31]
15Gemini 11NASASeptember 15, 196624°15′N 70°0′WUSS Guam5[32]
16Gemini 12NASANovember 15, 196624°35′N 69°57′WUSS Wasp5[33]
17Apollo 7NASAOctober 22, 196827°32′N 64°04′WUSS Essex3[34]
18Apollo 8NASADecember 27, 19688°7.5′N 165°1.2′WUSS Yorktown2[35]
19Apollo 9NASAMarch 13, 196923°15′N 67°56′WUSS Guadalcanal5[36][37]
20Apollo 10NASAMay 26, 196915°2′S 164°39′WUSS Princeton2.4[38][39]
21Apollo 11NASAJuly 24, 196913°19′N 169°9′WUSS Hornet3.13[40][41]
22Apollo 12NASANovember 24, 196915°47′S 165°9′WUSS Hornet3.7[42][43]
23Apollo 13NASAApril 17, 197021°38′S 165°22′WUSS Iwo Jima1.85[44][45]
24Apollo 14NASAFebruary 9, 197127°1′S 172°39′WUSS New Orleans1.1[46][47]
25Apollo 15NASAAugust 7, 197126°7′N 158°8′WUSS Okinawa1.85[48][49]
26Apollo 16NASAApril 27, 19720°43′S 156°13′WUSS Ticonderoga0.55[50][51]
27Apollo 17NASADecember 19, 197217°53′S 166°7′WUSS Ticonderoga1.85[52][53]
28Skylab 2NASAJune 22, 197324°45′N 127°2′WUSS Ticonderoga[54]
29Skylab 3NASASeptember 25, 197330°47′N 120°29′WUSS New Orleans[55]
30Skylab 4NASAFebruary 8, 197431°18′N 119°48′WUSS New Orleans[55]
31Apollo CSM-111NASAJuly 24, 197522°N 163°WUSS New Orleans1.3[56][57]
32Soyuz 23USSROctober 16, 1976Lake TengizMi-8 helicopter[58]
33Crew Dragon Demo-2SpaceXAugust 2, 202029°48′N 87°30′WGO Navigator[59]
33Crew Dragon Crew-1SpaceXMay 2, 202129°32′N 86°11′WGO Navigator[60]
34Inspiration4SpaceXSeptember 18, 2021GO Searcher[61]
35Crew Dragon Crew-2SpaceXNovember 7, 2021GO Navigator
35Axiom Mission 1SpaceXApril 25, 2022Megan
36Crew Dragon Crew-3SpaceXMay 6, 2022Shannon[62]
37Crew Dragon Crew-4SpaceXOctober 14, 2022Megan
38Crew Dragon Crew-5SpaceXMarch 11, 2023Shannon
39Axiom Mission 2SpaceXMay 31, 2023Megan
40Polaris DawnSpaceXSeptember 15, 2024
41Artemis IINASAApril 10, 2026USS John P. Murtha

Uncrewed spacecraft

SpacecraftAgencyLanding dateCoordinatesRecovery shipMiss distance
Jupiter AM-18
(Able and Baker)		USAFMay 28, 195948 to 96 km (30 to 60 mi) N Antigua IslandUSS Kiowa16 km (9.9 mi)[63]
Mercury-Big JoeNASASeptember 9, 19592,407 km (1,496 mi) SE Cape CanaveralUSS Strong925 km (575 mi)[64]
Mercury-Little Joe 2 Sam The Rhesus MonkeyNASADecember 4, 1959319 km (198 mi) SE Wallops Island, VirginiaUSS Borie? km[65]
Mercury-Redstone 1ANASADecember 19, 1960378.2 km (235.0 mi) SE Cape CanaveralUSS Valley Forge12.9 km (8.0 mi)[66]
Mercury-Redstone 2NASAJanuary 31, 1961675.9 km (420.0 mi) SE Cape CanaveralUSS Donner[67]209.2 km (130.0 mi)[68]
Mercury-Atlas 2NASAFebruary 21, 19612,293.3 km (1,425.0 mi) SE Cape CanaveralUSS Donner[67]20.9 km (13.0 mi)[69]
Discoverer 25
(Corona 9017)		USAFJune 16, 1961mid-air recovery missed
Mercury-Atlas 4NASASeptember 13, 1961257.5 km (160.0 mi) E of BermudaUSS Decatur64.4 km (40.0 mi)[70]
Mercury-Atlas 5NASANovember 29, 1961804.7 km (500.0 mi) SE of BermudaUSS Stormes? km[71]
Gemini 2NASAJanuary 19, 196516°33.9′N 49°46.27′W 3,423.1 km (2,127.0 mi) downrange from KSCUSS Lake Champlain38.6 km (24.0 mi)[72]
AS-201NASAFebruary 26, 19668.18°S 11.15°W 8,472 km (5,264 mi) downrange from KSCUSS Boxer? km[73]
AS-202NASAAugust 25, 196616.12°N 168.9°E 804.7 km (500.0 mi) southwest of Wake IslandUSS Hornet? km[73]
Gemini 2-MOLUSAFNovember 3, 19668,149.7 km (5,064.0 mi) SE KSC near Ascension IslandUSS La Salle11.26 km (7.00 mi)[74]
Apollo 4NASANovember 9, 196730.1°N 172.53°WUSS Bennington16 km (9.9 mi)[73]
Apollo 6NASAApril 4, 196827°40′N 157°59′WUSS Okinawa? km[73]
Zond 5USSRSeptember 21, 196832.63°S 65.55°EUSSR recovery naval vessel Soviet ship Borovichy and Soviet ship Vasiliy Golovin105 km (65 mi)[75][76]
Zond 8USSROctober 27, 1970730 km (450 mi) SE of the Chagos Archipelago, Indian OceanUSSR recovery ship Soviet ship Taman24 km[77][78]
Cosmos 1374USSRJune 4, 198217°S 98°E 560 km (350 mi) S of Cocos Islands, Indian OceanUSSR recovery ship? km
Cosmos 1445USSRMarch 15, 1983556 km (345 mi) S of Cocos Islands, Indian OceanUSSR recovery ship? km
Cosmos 1517USSRDecember 27, 1983near Crimea, Black SeaUSSR recovery ship? km
Cosmos 1614USSRDecember 19, 1984? km W of the Crimea, Black SeaUSSR recovery ship? km
COTS Demo Flight 1SpaceXDecember 8, 2010800 km (500 mi) west of Baja California, Mexico, Pacific Ocean?0.8 km (0.50 mi)[79]
Dragon C2+SpaceXMay 31, 201226.92°N 120.7°W??[80]
CRS SpX-1SpaceXOctober 28, 2012?American Islander[81]?[82]
CRS SpX-2SpaceXMarch 27, 2013?American Islander?[83]
Exploration Flight Test 1NASADecember 5, 201423.6°N 116.4°W, 443 km (275 miles) west of Baja CaliforniaUSS Anchorage
Crew Dragon Demo-1SpaceXMarch 8, 2019In the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Pensacola, FloridaGO Searcher
SpaceX CRS-21SpaceXJanuary 14, 2020In the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Tampa, FloridaGO Navigator
Artemis INASADecember 11, 2022Pacific Ocean, west of Baja CaliforniaUSS Portland4 nm
IFT-4SpaceXJune 6, 2024Indian Ocean
IFT-5SpaceXOctober 13, 2024Indian Ocean
IFT-6SpaceXNovember 19, 2024Indian Ocean
IFT-10SpaceXAugust 26, 2025Indian Ocean
IFT-11SpaceXOctober 13, 2025Indian Ocean

Notes

  1. ^ Dragon 2 was originally intended to propulsively land using its SuperDraco engines, but this was abandoned except for contingency in case of parachute failure.[84]

References

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