US military practices rescuing astronauts from the sea (photos)

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"Space travel is expected to increase, so the search and rescue alert is going to increase."

photo from inside a plane, showing one paratrooper jumping out over coastal waters and another preparing to do so
Maj. David Reifenberg, combat rescue officer drop zone controller, 308th Rescue Squadron, Patrick Space Force Base, Florida, free falls from a Joint Base Charleston C-17 Globemaster III, as Senior Master Sgt. George Reed, pararescueman, 308 RQS prepares to jump, during a Human Space Flight Support airdrop search and rescue exercise Jan 15, 2025, near Patrick SFB, Fla. (Image credit: U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. Della Creech)

A U.S. military joint task force did some training recently off the Florida coast to help with astronaut splashdowns.

"Space travel is expected to increase, so the search and rescue alert is going to increase, and we will be ready to answer that call," Maj. Ryan Schieber, lead planner for Human Space Flight Support (HSFS) in the U.S. Air Force's 315th Operations Support Squadron, said in a statement.

So, as the U.S. sees an uptick in crewed spaceflight operations, the military wants to make sure it can support astronaut retrieval at sea if needed.

two paratroopers sit at the end of a plane's open cargo hold, looking out over the open ocean

Staff Sgt. Nainoa Lehua, Human Space Flight Support airdrop loadmaster, 204th Airlift Squadron, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and Chief Master Sgt. Drew Cheek, HSFS airdrop evaluating loadmaster, 701st Airlift Squadron, prepare to airdrop Mark-25 flares during HSFS airdrop search and rescue training Jan 16, 2025, Patrick Space Force Base, Florida. (Image credit: U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. Della Creech)

Members from several military outfits came together for the joint task force operations, including Guardsmen from the 204th Airlift Squadron, Reservists from the 315th Airlift Wing, and the 308th Rescue Squadron.

Related: What is the U.S. Space Force and what does it do?

"We're conducting realistic drops of both personnel and equipment into an offshore drop zone, simulating how we would locate and recover isolated personnel in a maritime environment," said Capt. Nicolas Walsh, 308th RQS (Rescue Squadron) combat rescue officer drop zone controller, in the same statement.

Based out of Patrick Space Force Base in Florida, the training — which occurred from Jan. 14 to Jan. 17 — saw the joint task force complete 10 airdrops and 30 pararescuemen jumps into the ocean.

"The developments in the space industry from 2020 … until now show an increase in SpaceX launches to include Boeing Starliner, and now in 2026, the Artemis team," Maj. Schieber said.

In late March (at the earliest), SpaceX's Crew-9 mission will return to Earth from the International Space Station with four astronauts aboard, including NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. The duo were originally supposed to come home on a Boeing Starliner, but that plan was scrapped due to safety concerns with the capsule.

a group of about 25 military paratroopers poses for a photo in the cargo bay of their plane

A joint task force of the 204th Airlift Squadron, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, 315th Airlift Wing, Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, and the 308th Rescue Squadron, Patrick Space Force Base, Florida, posed for a team photo before Human Space Flight Support airdrop search and rescue training, used to retrieve astronauts from open-ocean waters upon returning to Earth Jan. 15, 2025, at Patrick SFB. (Image credit: U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. Della Creech)
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The first crewed Artemis mission, which will send four astronauts around the moon and back to Earth, is now scheduled for April 2026, after being pushed back from a September 2025 launch date. It'll be the first time NASA has sent people to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.

"We'll be able to support the real-world launches and recoveries for the HSFS program," said Master Sgt. Makaio Roberts, 204th, who is working as the HSFS deputy program manager, in the same statement.

Master Sgt. Roberts said that the team will be ready to support launches and recoveries with Boeing, SpaceX, and NASA, specifically citing Artemis missions.

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Julian Dossett
Julian Dossett

Julian Dossett is a freelance writer living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He primarily covers the rocket industry and space exploration and, in addition to science writing, contributes travel stories to New Mexico Magazine. In 2022 and 2024, his travel writing earned IRMA Awards. Previously, he worked as a staff writer at CNET. He graduated from Texas State University in San Marcos in 2011 with a B.A. in philosophy. He owns a large collection of sci-fi pulp magazines from the 1960s.