splashdown

Also, CST100 uses a traditional 'SplashDown' recovery that requires a flotilla of helicopter-capable naval ships to be on standby for every mission.

It was a small sat with aeroshell and parachute for reentry, with water splashdown.

Crew module will perform a controlled re-entry and splashdown in Indian ocean.

Awesome – the announcer just noted that there's a UAV which will be used to capture the final descent splashdown of the Orion capsule.

Water splashdown is preferable because you don't have to deal with obstacles.

Also the note that 'kaboom' after splashdown suggests that some part of the landing mechanism didn't deal well the transition from flight to sailing.

Orion will reach that point on the way back a few hours before splashdown, I think.

Was very cool to watch the descent and splashdown.

The shuttle SRBs floated vertically after splashdown, so I don't know why someone would be dumb for thinking the Falcon 9 booster might do the same.

I believe it's a technology demonstrator for the eventual version of the Dragon capsule that has powered landing at a spaceport rather than the current water splashdown.

I should point out that "it" is still going on, the mission is rather hectic four hour mission concluding in atmospheric re-entry, splashdown and recovery.

For a spacecraft moving at escape velocity, which is going to be roughly true for Orion all the way until splashdown, I think the "breakeven point" is higher, at a little over 2 Earth radii.

If something goes horribly wrong, keep some large delta-v chemically fueled beast of a lifeboat around, worst case scenario on your "12 year mission to the moon" you'll never be more than many hours (well, OK, days worst case) from a splashdown on the earth via a very non-ITN path.