Capsule Splashdown in Gulf of Mexico - Feasible?

As far as I can determine, all U.S. capsule splashdowns have been in
the South Pacific or Atlantic Oceans. Are there any reasons why the
Gulf of Mexico has never been used for water recovery of manned
spacecraft? I ask because, if a commercially developed space capsule
(t/Space CXV, Spacehab) is used to transport supplies or astronauts to
and from ISS, the orbital path used by most shuttle flights would bring
a returning capsule over the Gulf of Mexico to KSC. Is this feasible,
or would an ocean recovery be preferable? Thank you.

Depends on what you plan to do with the vehicle after you use it the
first time. As I understand it, the biggest issue with a ocean
recovery is the structural uncertainties that immersion (especially in
salt water) would create. Of course, the SRBs on the shuttle have done
just that and so far as I know, nobody credible has suggested that the
reasons that they hate the things have anything to do with the fact
that the boosters spend time floating around in the Atlantic.

Like you I have often wondered why the Gulf of Mexico was not
considered for recovery once we learned half way through Gemini how to
steer through reentry to a selected splashdown point with some
reasonable precision. I love the story how Apollo 11 was retargeted to
avoid a typhoon on the basis of military weather satellite data that
had to remain classified.

Blue skies . . .

John

On 10 Aug 2005 wrote:

As far as I can determine, all U.S. capsule splashdowns have been in
the South Pacific or Atlantic Oceans. Are there any reasons why the
Gulf of Mexico has never been used for water recovery of manned
spacecraft? I ask because, if a commercially developed space capsule
(t/Space CXV, Spacehab) is used to transport supplies or astronauts to
and from ISS, the orbital path used by most shuttle flights would bring
a returning capsule over the Gulf of Mexico to KSC. Is this feasible,
or would an ocean recovery be preferable? Thank you.

How fond of you of crashing into commercial shipping or oil rigs?

The Gulf of Mexico is *teaming* with these things.

One reason for the splashdown ranges chosen for the American space
program was the fact that there was absolutely nothing to run into out
there. (Other than the recovery fleet itself...)

Gene P.
Slidell, LA

--
Alcore Nilth - The Mad Alchemist of Gevbeck