Alpena native helped recover Artemis II crew after splash down in Pacific
April 16, 2026
Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Steve Kapala, 33, who was raised in Alpena, participated in the Artemis II recovery mission.
When the Orion capsule carrying the Artemis II astronauts pierced the blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean, a U.S. Navy sailor from Alpena, Michigan, was among the first to welcome them home. Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Steve Kapala was a key member of the specialized dive medical team tasked with recovering the four astronauts after their historic 10-day journey around the Moon. The successful splashdown on April 10, 2026, off the coast of San Diego marked the conclusion of humanity's first crewed voyage beyond low-Earth orbit in over 50 years, a critical step in NASA's ambitious plan to return to the lunar surface.
The recovery operation was a meticulously choreographed effort between NASA and the U.S. military. Following the capsule's parachute-assisted descent, Kapala and his fellow Navy divers from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 1 approached the bobbing spacecraft in inflatable boats. Their primary role was to be the first to open the Orion hatch, perform initial medical assessments on Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, and assist them safely onto a raft. For Kapala, a native of Alpena who has practiced dive medicine since 2018, the experience was surreal. He acknowledged the profound significance of ensuring the safe return of the astronauts to their families after their journey of nearly 700,000 miles.
The Artemis II mission, which launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 1, 2026, served as a crucial test flight for the Orion spacecraft's life support, power, and navigation systems in the harsh environment of deep space. Throughout their ten days in space, the crew flew farther from Earth than any humans before, surpassing the record set by Apollo 13. The mission provided invaluable data and validated the capabilities of the spacecraft, paving the way for more complex missions. After the recovery, the astronauts were flown by helicopter to the USS John P. Murtha for further medical evaluations before their return to Houston.
The safe return of the Artemis II crew has significant implications for the future of space exploration. It builds confidence in the hardware and procedures that will underpin subsequent lunar missions. NASA and its international partners, including the Canadian Space Agency represented by astronaut Jeremy Hansen, can now proceed with the next phases of the Artemis program. This success is seen not just as a national achievement but as a global one, reigniting public imagination and reinforcing the cooperative nature of modern space endeavors.
With the Artemis II shakedown cruise complete, NASA is now focused on the next steps. The program's roadmap has seen some revisions, with Artemis III now planned as a crewed rehearsal in Earth orbit in mid-2027. This mission will test the crucial docking capabilities between the Orion capsule and the commercial human landing systems being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin. The first crewed lunar landing since the Apollo era is now slated for Artemis IV, expected in late 2028, which aims to land astronauts near the Moon's south pole. This phased approach prioritizes safety and technical readiness, ensuring a sustainable and long-term human presence on the Moon and, eventually, missions to Mars.
Source: detroitnews