24.03.2025

In its final return trip after a Dragon spacecraft recovery, the SpaceX Dragon recovery ship, known as Megan, cruised through Port Canaveral.

The splashdown on Tuesday, March 18, off the coast of Florida by Tallahassee, marked the end of an era. As long as SpaceX’s Dragon has been flying, splashdowns have been off the coast of Florida.

Now that has come to an end as SpaceX is moving recovery operations to Southern California.

Spectators watched as Megan moved through Port Canaveral for the last time with a Dragon spacecraft which had just returned from space.

The Dragon spacecraft, known as Freedom, had just returned Crew-9. This included the reassigned Starliner astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams. The two astronauts were reassigned to fly home on this Dragon after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft malfunctioned last June.

According to Sarah Walker, Director of SpaceX Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX does not know what is next for Megan.

SpaceX has two Dragon recovery ships: Shannon and Megan. Shannon, which was formerly at Port Canaveral, is already docked off Long Beach, California.

There are both benefits and challenges to splashing down on the West Coast. Walker said the weather is far more stable in terms of wind and waves, but cloud cover is different and brings new challenges for splashdown operations.

While Dragon recovery ships may be leaving the local scene, Port Canaveral will still have its familiar sight of SpaceX Falcon 9 boosters returning on drone ships.

Quelle: Florida Today