''Shannon'', formerly called ''GO Navigator'', is an offshore supply ship owned and operated by Guice Offshore, and currently deployed as one of the

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. ...

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 missions such as Ins ...

recovery vessels along with ''

Megan Megan is a Welsh feminine given name, originally a diminutive form of Margaret. Margaret is from the Greek μαργαρίτης (''margarítēs''), Latin ''margarīta'', "pearl". Megan is one of the most popular Welsh-language names for women in ...

''. Both the vessels are identical and equipped with a medical treatment facility,

helipad A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard ...

, lifting frame, etc. The vessel played a key role in the recovery operation of

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 o ...

's first crewed mission -

Crew Dragon Demo-2 Crew Dragon Demo-2 (officially Crew Demo-2, SpaceX Demo-2, or Demonstration Mission-2) was the first crewed test flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft, named '' Endeavour'', launched on 30 May 2020 on a Falcon 9 booster, and ca ...

History

''GO Navigators services were procured by

as a quick transport vessel, as a back-up to '' GO Searcher'' in the event of any technical failures. In 2018 and 2019, the vessel and its crew were deployed for several hours of training to prepare for the recovery of the

capsules and their

astronauts An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

. The vessel executed the recovery operations during the

Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test SpaceX Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test (also known as Crew Dragon Launch Escape Demonstration) was a successful test of the SpaceX Dragon 2 abort system, conducted on 19 January 2020. It was the final assessment for the Crew Dragon and Falcon ...

. Between April and May 2019, ''GO Navigator'' was temporarily re-assigned to fairing recovery operations for the ArabSat-6A, Starlink 0.9,

STP-2 The Space Test Program (STP) is the primary provider of spaceflight for the United States Department of Defense (DoD) space science and technology community. STP is managed by a group within the Advanced Systems and Development Directorate, a d ...

, and Amos-17 missions. ''GO'' stands for Guice Offshore, the owner and operator of these type of vessels. In early 2022, the vessel was 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, along with ''GO Searcher'' being 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 ha ...

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

List of recovery missions

Mission Overview

Demo-2

For the

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.

References

External links