The commander of the Artemis II mission, Reid Wiseman, published yesterday a 70-second video on his X account showing the precise moment when U.S. Navy divers open the hatch of the Orion capsule "Integrity" after its landing in the Pacific Ocean, an unprecedented angle that had not been shared during the live coverage of the rescue.
The recording was made from inside the rescue operation and captures the divers' perspective at the moment of contacting the crew for the first time, three days after the water landing that occurred on April 11 at 8:07 p.m. Eastern Time, about 110 km from San Diego, California.
In the audio of the video, the voices of the team can be heard coordinating each step of the opening: "Let's go! Passer, passer! Seal cover, seal cover. Seal cover, here. Do you have it? We got you. I got you. I've got you, buddy. He tilted. Take your time. Seal cover in place." The divers were the first to physically contact the astronauts after their return.
Wiseman dedicated the post to the four members of the dive medical team that rescued them: Commander Jesse Wang, First Class Hospital Corpsman Steve Kapala, Chief Hospital Corpsman Laddy Aldridge, and Chief Hospital Corpsman Vlad Link, all part of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 1 of the Navy, in an operation led by the USS John P. Murtha, an amphibious ship.
"Jesse, Steve, Laddy, and Vlad... what an incredible feeling it is to welcome them aboard Integrity after a journey of nearly 700,000 miles. Forever grateful for their service to our crew and to the nation," wrote Wiseman. The crew was later received with a standing ovation in Houston, after completing a historic mission that included surpassing the historic record of Apollo 13.
Filed under: