Michigan sailor among the first to welcome Artemis II crew back to Earth

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Steve Kapala of Alpena, Michigan, is part of a four-member U.S. Navy dive medical team that will open the Orion capsule and perform initial checks when Artemis II splashes down about 60 miles off San Diego at roughly 8:07 p.m. ET on April 10.

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Steve Kapala of Alpena, Michigan, is part of the U.S. Navy dive medical team assigned to welcome the Artemis II crew back to Earth. The Orion capsule is scheduled to reenter and splash down in the Pacific Ocean about 60 miles off the coast of San Diego at approximately 8:07 p.m. ET on April 10. The four-person crew completed a 10-day mission that included a lunar fly-by and set a record for the farthest distance in human spaceflight. The dive medical team is aboard the USS John P. Murtha ahead of the recovery. Known details: - The Artemis II crew includes Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen aboard the Orion capsule nicknamed "Integrity." The mission set a distance record of 248,655 miles on April 6. - The scheduled splashdown is about 60 miles off San Diego at approximately 8:07 p.m. ET on April 10. - Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Steve Kapala is a member of the four-person Navy dive medical team and has practiced dive medicine since 2018, according to the Navy release. - Other team members named in the Navy release are Lt. Commander Jesse Wang, Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Laddy Aldridge and Chief Hospital Corpsman Vlad Link. - The dive medical team will be the first to open the Orion capsule, perform initial medical assessments, help the crew into an inflatable raft and prepare them for airlift by Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23. - The team is stationed on the amphibious transport dock USS John P. Murtha, which is operating in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area. Summary: The U.S. Navy dive medical team will open the Orion capsule and carry out initial medical checks after the scheduled splashdown, then assist in moving the crew into an inflatable raft and preparing them for helicopter transfer to the USS John P. Murtha. The planned reentry and recovery operations are set for the evening of April 10 at about 8:07 p.m. ET; further operational updates will be reported as the recovery proceeds.