Space History Photo: Navy Frogmen Swim to Spacecraft to Begin Retrieval

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Deployed from the hovering helicopter, the U.S. Navy frogmen make contact with Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper waiting inside after the 1963 splashdown. (Image credit: NASA)

In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, a U.S. Navy frogman, deployed from the hovering helicopter, swims next to the spacecraft and makes contact with Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper inside, as his fellow team members bring up the floatation gear to be attached to the spacecraft.

The main chute floats at top left, and the ejected reserve chute floats at the lower right of the spacecraft in the green dye area.

Each weekday, SPACE.com looks back at the history of spaceflight through photos (archive).

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