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Megan (ship)

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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 (2014–2022)
  • Harvey Otter (2013)
  • Callais Searcher (2010–2013)
NamesakeMegan McArthur
Owner
  • Falcon Landing LLC (2022–present)
  • Guice Offshore (2014–2022)
  • Harvey Gulf International Marine (2013)
  • Abdon Callais Offshore (2010–2013)
Operator
  • SpaceX (2016–present)
  • Guice Offshore (2014–2022)
  • Harvey Gulf International Marine (2013)
  • Abdon Callais Offshore (2010–2013)
Port of registryPort Canaveral, Florida
BuilderMaster Boat Builders, Coden, Alabama
Laid down2009
In serviceSeptember 2010
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics
Class and type
Tonnage
Length51 m (167 ft 4 in)
Beam12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Draught3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Depth3.7 m (12 ft)
Decks1
Installed power1,750 hp (1,300 kW)
Propulsion2 × Caterpillar 3508B
Speed22 kn (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity32
Crew6
Notes[1]

MV Megan, formerly known as MV GO Searcher, 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 Shannon, are converted platform supply vessels now equipped to retrieve Crew and Cargo Dragon capsules after splashdown.

When a Dragon capsule is preparing to return to Earth, Megan or Shannon 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

[edit]

Megan was built by Master Boat Builders of Coden, Alabama as an offshore supply vessel, a ship specially designed to supply offshore oil and gas platforms and other offshore installations. The keel laying for the vessel took place in 2009 and was launched in 2010.

The vessel was purchased new by Abdon Callais Offshore and named MV CALLAIS Searcher. As Abdon Callais Offshore's parent company exited the marine transportation business, it sold the vessel to Harvey Gulf International Marine, which renamed it MV HARVEY Otter. The vessel was sold to Guice Offshore (GO) in 2014, which renamed it MV GO Searcher.[2]

SpaceX had previously retrieved its cargo-only Dragon 1 capsules with a similar offshore supply vessel but needed additional capabilities as it prepared for crewed and cargo launches with the Dragon 2. It contracted with Guice Offshore to modify two offshore supply vessels with a capsule lifting frame (a specialized crane), a medical treatment unit, a helipad, and extensive technology upgrades.[3][4]

GO Searcher was first used on 8 March 2019 to recover the Dragon used for the uncrewed Demo-1 mission. The vessel was also used for an August 2019 rehearsal of Crew Dragon crew extraction with the astronauts that would fly on the Demo-2 mission.[4] However, its sister vessel, MV GO Navigator (later renamed Shannon) was used to retrieve the astronauts after the Demo-2 flight.[5]

Between April 2019 and June 2021, GO Searcher was used in support of nine missions of the SpaceX fairing recovery program. The vessel can accommodate a single Falcon 9 fairing half in the Dragon egress area. On 19 January 2020, the vessel was used to recover the Crew Dragon capsule after the In-Flight Abort Test.

GO Searcher first recovered a crew from a Dragon capsule on 18 September 2021 when it retrieved Crew Dragon Resilience after its Inspiration4 mission, the first orbital spaceflight with only private citizens aboard. Since that time, it has only been used for recovering Crew Dragon or Cargo Dragon capsules.[6]

In early 2022, GO Searcher was renamed Megan in honor of Megan McArthur, the second female NASA astronaut to fly on a SpaceX Dragon capsule.

List of recovery missions

[edit]
Date Mission Role
8 March 2019 Demo-1 Crew Dragon recovery
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
19 January 2020 In-Flight Abort Test Crew Dragon recovery
11 March 2021 Starlink 20 Fairing recovery support
14 March 2021 Starlink 21 Fairing recovery support
26 May 2021 Starlink 28 Fairing recovery support
6 June 2021 SXM-8 Fairing recovery support
18 September 2021 Inspiration4 Crew Dragon recovery
1 October 2021 CRS-23 Cargo Dragon recovery
24 January 2022 CRS-24 Cargo Dragon recovery
25 April 2022 Axiom-1 Crew Dragon recovery
20 August 2022 CRS-25 Cargo Dragon recovery
14 October 2022 Crew-4 Crew Dragon recovery
11 January 2023 CRS-26 Cargo Dragon recovery
31 May 2023 Axiom-2 Crew Dragon recovery
4 September 2023 Crew-6 Crew Dragon recovery
12 March 2024 Crew-7 Crew Dragon recovery

Incidents

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[edit]
  • Crew Dragon being lifted from the water and onto the vessel after the Demo-1 mission, 8 March 2019
    Crew Dragon being lifted from the water and onto the vessel after the Demo-1 mission, 8 March 2019
  • Crew Dragon sits on the vessel, about 200 miles off Florida’s east coast, after the Demo-1 mission, 8 March 2019
    Crew Dragon sits on the vessel, about 200 miles off Florida’s east coast, after the Demo-1 mission, 8 March 2019
  • Crew Dragon sits on the vessel, after the Demo-1 mission, 8 March 2019
    Crew Dragon sits on the vessel, after the Demo-1 mission, 8 March 2019
  • NASA astronauts Doug Hurley (left) and Bob Behnken (right) on the vessel, rehearsing Crew Dragon crew extraction with teams from NASA and SpaceX, 13 August 2019. The ship would later be named after the wife of Behnken, Megan McArthur, who would fly on the SpaceX Crew-2 mission.
    NASA astronauts Doug Hurley (left) and Bob Behnken (right) on the vessel, rehearsing Crew Dragon crew extraction with teams from NASA and SpaceX, 13 August 2019. The ship would later be named after the wife of Behnken, Megan McArthur, who would fly on the SpaceX Crew-2 mission.
  • The vessel, now named Megan, at its home port at the West Basin in Port Canaveral, Florida on 25 February 2023.
    The vessel, now named Megan, at its home port at the West Basin in Port Canaveral, Florida on 25 February 2023.

References

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  1. ^ "Advanced Masterdata for the Vessel Go Searcher". VesselTracker. 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  2. ^ "GO SEARCHER Offshore Support Vessel". intelligence.marinelink.com. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  3. ^ "GO Searcher". SpaceXFleet. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Go Searcher – Commercial Crew Program". blogs.nasa.gov. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Crew Dragon Recovery". SpaceXFleet. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  6. ^ "SpaceX's private Inspiration4 crew returns to Earth with historic splashdown off Florida coast". Space.com. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  7. ^ Thompson, Amy (10 May 2020). "SpaceX recovery team rescues stranded boater during ocean recovery drills". TESLARATI. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  8. ^ Speck, Emilee (8 May 2020). "Practicing retrieving astronaut spacecraft at sea, SpaceX vessel rescues stranded boater". WKMG. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
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