MV Shannon, formerly known as MV GO Navigator, is one of SpaceX's two Dragon capsule recovery vessels. Owned by SpaceX through Falcon Landing LLC (which also owns SpaceX's faring recovery vessels and Elon Musk's private jet), this vessel, along with its sister ship, MV Megan, is designed to retrieve Crew and Cargo Dragon capsules after splashdown.
 The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour, with NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley inside, is seen aboard SpaceX’s Shannon recovery ship shortly after splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, on Aug. 2, 2020.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake | Shannon Walker |
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry | Port Canaveral, Florida |
| Builder | Master Boat Builders, Coden, Alabama |
| Launched | 2009 |
| Completed | 2010 |
| In service | 2010 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Platform supply vessel |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 49.85 m (163 ft 7 in) |
| Beam | 11 m (36 ft) |
| Draught | 3 m (9 ft 10 in) |
| Depth | 3.7 m (12 ft) |
| Decks | 1 |
| Installed power | 1,750 hp (1,300 kW) |
| Propulsion | 2 × Caterpillar 3508B |
| Speed | 22 kn (41 km/h; 25 mph) |
| Capacity | 20 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Notes | [1][2] |
When a Dragon capsule is preparing to return to Earth, Shannon or Megan are dispatched to wait near the predetermined landing zone. After splashdown, fast boats deployed from the vessel, approach the capsule to perform safety checks, check on the crew, and prepare it to be lifted aboard the recovery vessel, where the astronauts can exit the capsule. NASA requires SpaceX to allow the astronauts to exit within 60 minutes of splashdown.
To support its mission, the vessel is equipped with a specialized crane on the stern to pull the capsule up from the water, a medical unit to treat astronauts, and a helipad to allow astronauts and any time-sensitive cargo materials returned from space to be quickly returned to shore.
History
editGO Navigator's services were procured by SpaceX as a quick transport vessel, as a back-up to GO Searcher in the event of any technical failures.[citation needed]
In 2018 and 2019, the vessel and its crew were deployed for several hours of training to prepare for the recovery of the Dragon 2 capsules and their astronauts. The vessel executed the recovery operations during the Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test.[citation needed]
Between April and May 2019, GO Navigator was temporarily re-assigned to fairing recovery operations for the ArabSat-6A, Starlink 0.9, STP-2, and Amos-17 missions.[citation needed]
The vessel played a key role in the recovery operation of SpaceX's first crewed mission – Crew Dragon Demo-2.[3][4][5][6] along with Megan.[7] Both the vessels are identical and equipped with a medical treatment facility, helipad, lifting frame, etc.[8]
GO stands for Guice Offshore, the owner and operator of these type of vessels.[9]
In early 2022, the vessel was renamed Shannon after SpaceX Crew-1 astronaut Shannon Walker, along with GO Searcher being renamed Megan after SpaceX Crew-2 astronaut Megan McArthur. They are registered to Falcon Landing LLC, a SpaceX-linked company that also owns recovery ships Bob and Doug and Elon's private jet.[citation needed]
List of recovery missions
edit| Date | Mission | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 11 April 2019 | ArabSat-6A | Fairing recovery support |
| 24 May 2019 | Starlink | Fairing recovery support |
| 25 June 2019 | STP-2 | Fairing recovery support |
| 6 August 2019 | Amos-17 | Fairing recovery support |
| 11 November 2019 | Starlink-2 | Fairing recovery support |
| 2 August 2020 | Demo-2 | Crew Dragon recovery |
| 14 January 2021 | CRS-21 | Cargo Dragon recovery |
| 11 March 2021 | Starlink 20 | Fairing recovery support |
| 14 March 2021 | Starlink 21 | Fairing recovery support |
| 2 May 2021 | Crew-1 | Crew Dragon recovery |
| 26 May 2021 | Starlink 28 | Fairing recovery support |
| 6 June 2021 | SXM-8 | Fairing recovery support |
| 10 July 2021 | CRS-22 | Cargo Dragon recovery |
| 8 November 2021 | Crew-2 | Crew Dragon recovery |
| 6 May 2022 | Crew-3 | Crew Dragon recovery |
| 12 March 2023 | Crew-5 | Crew Dragon recovery |
| 15 April 2023 | CRS-27 | Cargo Dragon recovery |
| 30 June 2023 | CRS-28 | Cargo Dragon recovery |
| 22 December 2023 | CRS-29 | Cargo Dragon recovery |
| 9 February 2024 | Axiom-3 | Crew Dragon recovery |
| 30 April 2024 | CRS-30 | Cargo Dragon recovery |
| 15 September 2024 | Polaris Dawn | Crew Dragon recovery |
Mission Overview
editDemo-2
editFor the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission, the GO Navigator had a broken backup generator; however it still completed its mission and recovered the Endeavour capsule from the sea. The recovery was impeded by private boats which circled the capsule in the water.
-
GO Navigator in the dock showing capsule "nest" and retractable arch recovery device.
-
NASA Chief Astronaut Patrick G. Forrester, left, and NASA astronaut and Crew Recovery Chief Shane Kimbrough.
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GO Navigator deploying a fast boat off the rear of the boat.
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GO Navigator approaches the capsule.
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Crew Dragon Endeavour being hoisted onto aft of GO Navigator vessel.
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Robert Behnken, left, and Douglas Hurley are seen inside Endeavour onboard GO Navigator being greeted by SpaceX flight surgeon Anil Menon.
See also
edit- Megan, another SpaceX Dragon recovery ship
References
edit- ^ "Advanced Masterdata for the Vessel Go Navigator". VesselTracker. 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
- ^ "SHANNON, Offshore Tug/Supply Ship - Details and current position - IMO 9566887 - VesselFinder". www.vesselfinder.com. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
- ^ "SpaceX Crew Dragon: everything you need to know about the Demo-2 space launch". BBC Science Focus Magazine. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ Sheetz, Michael (2020-05-26). "Everything you need to know about SpaceX's historic Demo-2 launch, its first with NASA astronauts". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ "Launch America – a partnership between NASA and private space companies – will help open the space above Earth to people besides government astronauts". NASA. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ "GO Navigator". SpaceXFleet. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ "GO Searcher". SpaceXFleet. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ "Crew Dragon Recovery". SpaceXFleet. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ Ralph, Eric (2018-11-05). "NASA shows off SpaceX's upgraded Crew Dragon recovery vessel, tests helipad". TESLARATI. Retrieved 2020-05-31.