Orion Space Capsule Displayed on USS John P. Murtha in San Diego

The USS John P. Murtha arrived at Naval Base San Diego on April 11, 2026, delivering the Orion spacecraft and the crew of the Artemis II mission following their return to Earth.

The transport ship, which arrived on Saturday morning, carried the Orion capsule after the crew completed a 10-day mission that took them around the moon. The arrival was marked by the ship playing Rocket Man by Elton John over its speakers as it docked in San Diego.

Mission Crew and International Collaboration

The Artemis II mission featured a four-person crew representing both the United States and Canada. The team consisted of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, who served as commander, and Victor Glover, the mission pilot, alongside mission specialists Christina Koch of NASA and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

On April 11, 2026, the four astronauts posed for a group photo in the well deck of the USS John P. Murtha in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, where the Orion spacecraft was positioned.

Recovery Operations

The Orion spacecraft and its crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California, at 8:07 p.m. Eastern time (5:07 p.m. Pacific) on April 10, 2026.

Following the splashdown, the astronauts were retrieved by helicopter and transported to the USS John P. Murtha. Once aboard, the crew underwent post-mission medical evaluations in the ship’s medical bay before being taken to shore to board an aircraft destined for the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Simultaneously, Navy divers performed the recovery of the Orion capsule, named Integrity. The divers retrieved the spacecraft from the ocean and transported it to the well deck of the USS John P. Murtha, where it remained for exhibition as of April 12, 2026.

The USS John P. Murtha

The recovery vessel, the USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26), is a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship. The vessel was commissioned in 2016 and is named after the late U.S. Representative John P. Murtha, a Vietnam veteran who served Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1974 to 2010.

During the final approach to San Diego, the Navy and NASA reported that the crew and vessel had to manage unexpectedly strong ocean currents approximately 50 miles west of the city.

Historical and Political Context

The return of the Artemis II crew marked the first time American astronauts have splashed down in the ocean since December 1972, when the crew of Apollo 17 returned to Earth.

The mission took place during a period of heightened international tension, launching as conflict between the United States and Iran grew.