Members of Air Forces Space's Detachment 3 oversaw the successful recovery of the Artemis 1 Orion capsule after its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean Dec. 11. This was following its 1.4 million-mile, 25-day journey, including 10 days of lunar orbit. This was the first voyage of NASA’s Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System mega rocket, the most powerful rocket in history. The Orion capsule is designed for human deep spaceflight, including to the Moon and Mars. The recovery occurred on the 50th anniversary of Apollo 17 -- the final manned mission to the moon which landed on its surface Dec. 11, 1972. Det. 3, based at Patrick Space Force Base, Fla., brought to the table nearly seven decades of experience in Human Space Flight Support -- beginning with the Mercury program, through Gemini, Apollo, the Space Shuttle, Soyuz, the Commercial Crew Program and now Artemis.