Choreographing Astronaut Recovery
From Small Steps, Giant Leaps by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
March 18, 2026 · 15 min
About this episode
Christine St. Germain discusses the recovery efforts for astronauts returning to Earth from space.
For any crew returning to Earth from space, the journey home includes a carefully choreographed recovery effort to bring them safely back on dry land after splashing down in the ocean. Christine St. Germain, NASA recovery director for the Commercial Crew Program, tells us about this critical phase of flight.
People in this episode
Guest: Christine St. Germain
Topics covered
- astronaut recovery
- space travel
- flight safety
- NASA
- ocean splashdown
Keywords
- astronaut recovery
- NASA
- Commercial Crew Program
- splashdown
- flight safety
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: NASA, Commercial Crew Program
More episodes of Small Steps, Giant Leaps
- Test Like You Fly · May 27, 2026 · 24 min
- Soft Skills for Tough Missions · May 13, 2026 · 16 min
- Tracking Launches: Views from a NASA Pilot · April 29, 2026 · 17 min
- How NASA's Pandora Mission Unboxes Distant Worlds · April 19, 2026 · 12 min
- Dragonfly: Mission to Titan · March 4, 2026 · 21 min
- Designing the Roadmap to Mars · March 4, 2026 · 14 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Small Steps, Giant Leaps podcast page.