Initially, the splashdown of U.S. manned space capsules were unassisted.UDTs and the Space Flight Programs, UDT Navy Seal Museum Archives website, Fort Pierce, FL That changed quickly after the second manned flight; when Mercury 11 hit the water following reentry, the hatch blew and she sank, nearly drowning Gus Grissom. All Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space capsules were subsequently met by UDTs 11 or 12 upon splashdown. Before the hatch was opened, the UDTs would attach a flotation collar to the capsule and liferaft for the astronauts to safely exit the craft.
