About this episode

Chris Upton shares his experience as an Aviation Rescue Swimmer during the historic Artemis II astronaut recovery.

The whole world watched the Orion capsule splash down in the Pacific and the U.S. Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmer hanging from a cable beneath an MH-60S Sea Hawk—lowered down to bring the astronauts home from the Moon. In this episode of Calm in the Chaos, Chris Upton shares what it was like to be one of the Aviation Rescue Swimmers on the hoist during the historic Artemis II recovery. After NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashed down off the coast of San Diego—returning from humanity's first lunar mission in over 50 years—Chris was part of the team trusted to physically bring them up out of the Pacific and onto the helicopter that would deliver them to the USS John P. Murtha. This is the view from the cable. Chris takes us inside the training, the rehearsals, the precision, and the quiet pressure of being the person at the end of the hoist when the world is watching—and four lives are in your hands. In this episode: Being lowered on the hoist during the Artemis II astronaut recovery What it felt like to come face-to-face with astronauts returning from the Moon The rehearsals, mockups, and training that…

People in this episode

Host: Brian Dickinson

Guest: Chris Upton

Topics covered

• Aviation Rescue Swimmer
• Artemis II recovery
• NASA astronaut recovery
• U.S. Navy operations
• splashdown
• training and preparation
• helicopter rescue

Keywords

• Orion capsule
• splashdown
• rescue swimmer
• NASA
• U.S. Navy
• helicopter
• training
• Artemis II
• astronauts
• recovery

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NASA, U.S. Navy, USS John P. Murtha

Products: MH-60S Sea Hawk

Places: Pacific, San Diego

More episodes of Calm in the Chaos - U.S. Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmer Podcast

• Navy Rescue Swimmer Collin Koss – Multiple Rescues, F/A-18 Ejection, and the Journey to Officer · July 16, 2026 · 1h 7m
• 20 Years, Parkinson’s Diagnosis & a Door Through the Rotors | Aviation Rescue Swimmer Kevin McNease · June 3, 2026 · 60 min
• Artemis II Splashdown, Astronaut Recovery | Aviation Rescue Swimmer Sean Sondergaard | Ep. 59 · May 4, 2026 · 1h 4m

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