Product Code Database
MV Shannon, formerly known as MV GO Navigator, is SpaceX's 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 her sister ship, , is designed to retrieve Crew and Cargo Dragon capsules after splashdown.
When a Dragon capsule is preparing to return to Earth, Shannon or Megan 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.
In 2018 and 2019, the vessel and its crew were deployed for several hours of training to prepare for the recovery of the Dragon 2 capsules and their astronauts. The vessel executed the recovery operations during the Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test.
Between April and May 2019, GO Navigator was temporarily re-assigned to fairing recovery operations for the ArabSat-6A, Starlink 0.9, STP-2, and Amos-17 missions.
The vessel played a key role in the recovery operation of SpaceX's first crewed mission – Crew Dragon Demo-2. along with Megan. Both the vessels are identical and equipped with a medical treatment facility, helipad, lifting frame, etc.
GO stands for Guice Offshore, the owner and operator of these types of vessels.
In early 2022, the vessel was renamed Shannon after SpaceX Crew-1 astronaut Shannon Walker, along with GO Searcher being renamed Megan after SpaceX Crew-2 astronaut Megan McArthur. They are registered to Falcon Landing LLC, a SpaceX-linked company that also owns recovery ships Bob and Doug and Elon Musk's private jet.
The Vessel is being moved to the West Coast of the United States in December 2024 to support the Crew Dragon splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, due to the capsule's trunk falling into a populated area. It will go through the port of Long Beach in California, the same location that the droneship Of Course I Still Love You has been since 2021, which was moved to the California coast to support Vandenderg launches and landings.
| April 11, 2019 | ArabSat-6A | Fairing recovery support |
| May 24, 2019 | Starlink | Fairing recovery support |
| June 25, 2019 | STP-2 | Fairing recovery support |
| August 6, 2019 | Amos-17 | Fairing recovery support |
| November 11, 2019 | Starlink-2 | Fairing recovery support |
| August 2, 2020 | Demo-2 | Crew Dragon recovery |
| January 14, 2021 | CRS-21 | Cargo Dragon recovery |
| March 11, 2021 | Starlink 20 | Fairing recovery support |
| March 14, 2021 | Starlink 21 | Fairing recovery support |
| May 2, 2021 | Crew-1 | Crew Dragon recovery |
| May 26, 2021 | Starlink 28 | Fairing recovery support |
| June 6, 2021 | SXM-8 | Fairing recovery support |
| July 10, 2021 | CRS-22 | Cargo Dragon recovery |
| November 8, 2021 | Crew-2 | Crew Dragon recovery |
| May 6, 2022 | Crew-3 | Crew Dragon recovery |
| March 12, 2023 | Crew-5 | Crew Dragon recovery |
| April 15, 2023 | CRS-27 | Cargo Dragon recovery |
| June 30, 2023 | CRS-28 | Cargo Dragon recovery |
| December 22, 2023 | CRS-29 | Cargo Dragon recovery |
| February 9, 2024 | Axiom-3 | Crew Dragon recovery |
| April 30, 2024 | CRS-30 | Cargo Dragon recovery |
| September 15, 2024 | Polaris Dawn | Crew Dragon recovery |
| April 4, 2025 | Fram2 | Crew Dragon recovery |
| May 25, 2025 | CRS-32 | Cargo Dragon recovery |
| July 15, 2025 | Axiom-4 | Crew Dragon recovery |
| August 9, 2025 | Crew-10 | Crew Dragon recovery |
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