Courtesy Photo | NAVFAC Southwest Metro Production Department’s Crane & Rigging team safely completed...... read more read more
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SAN DIEGO – Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southwest Metro Production Department’s (MPD) Crane & Rigging team successfully completed a series of crane lifts and movements for the recovery of National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Artemis II Spacecraft capsule from April 11-19 at Naval Base San Diego (NBSD).
“For the crane operations supporting Artemis II, I am immensely proud of our crew’s precision and professionalism,” said NAVFAC Southwest MPD Crane Rigging Supervisor Jose Zepeda. “Collaborating seamlessly with NASA, the team managed a complex series of maneuvers, from installing the stern ramp for capsule offload to offloading equipment from the ship and executing the delicate lift of the capsule required for heat shield imagery. The team’s technical mastery and seamless handoffs between day and night shifts were instrumental in loading the module onto the RFT for transport. Outstanding execution by everyone involved.”
The MPD team has supported the recovered NASA spacecraft and conducted around the clock operations to assist with the NASA Artemis II Spacecraft offload operations since its arrival to NBSD on April 11. The team has provided daily specialized crane and rigging support by safely completing more than 120 complex crane lifts that included precision movements from recovery ship to transport vehicle which supported NASA’s scientists and engineers to conduct documentation and evaluation.
“Ultimately, the successful conclusion of this historic recovery operation highlights the elite professionalism and technical skill of the MPD Crane & Rigging team,” said Zepeda. “The safe and efficient packaging of the spacecraft serves as a fitting finale to a historic week at Naval Base San Diego, proving the MPD’s capability to support our nation's most complex and high-stakes missions.
To close out the historic mission in San Diego, MPD’s Crane & Rigging team completed a final lift evolution that packaged the spacecraft, which involved a critical multi-step operation requiring two crane crews working in perfect synchronization in the precise placement of rigging hardware and lifting to plant the Artemis II Spacecraft into a specially engineered case for transportation back to Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
-USN-
| Date Taken: | 04.24.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 04.28.2026 10:55 |
| Story ID: | 563756 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 32 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NAVFAC Southwest MPD Crane & Rigging Team Supports NASA’s Historic Artemis II Mission, by Mario Icari, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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