When Artemis II returned to Earth, a Texas native was among the U.S. Navy sailors supporting the recovery of the capsule after splashdown.
Airman Daniel Olson is an electrician’s mate and part of a helicopter sea combat squadron. He made sure the electrical components worked on the helicopter that airlifted the astronauts to the transport dock ship to be evaluated and brought back to land.
“For me, it felt pretty surreal, especially when I got to hear the sonic boom. When I heard that, it was jaw-dropping. And I had full confidence in everybody’s ability, not only for our divers, the Marines, the people who went out and picked them up, our pilots, and then the maintenance team, us,” Olson said.
“I never saw myself joining the military, and it was one of the proudest things I’ve done so far. I’ve done so far.”
Olson graduated from Plano East Senior High School in 2020. He joined the Navy one year ago in 2025.