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,, 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.
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.[1]
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.[2] [3]
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. However, its sister vessel, MV GO Navigator (later renamed Shannon) was used to retrieve the astronauts after the Demo-2 flight.[4]
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 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.[5]
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.
| 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 |