What is "splashdown"

n. The act of landing in water, as by a space capsule or rollercoaster.

n. a landing of a spacecraft in the sea at the end of a space flight

Splashdown is the method of landing a spacecraft by parachute in a body of water. It was used by American manned spacecraft prior to the Space Shuttle program, and is planned for use by the upcoming Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle. It is also possible for the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to land in water, though this is only a contingency. The only example of an unintentional manned splashdown in Soviet history is the Soyuz 23 landing.

As the name suggests, the capsule parachutes into an ocean or other large body of water. The properties of water cushion the spacecraft enough that there is no need for a braking rocket to slow the final descent as was the case with Russian and Chinese manned space capsules, which returned to Earth over land. The American practice came in part because American launch sites are on the coastline and launch primarily over water. Russian launch sites are far inland and most early launch aborts were likely to descend on land.

A splashdown is the landing of a spacecraft or satellite in a body of water.

Splashdown may also refer to:

• Splashdown (seaQuest DSV episode), the second season finale of " seaQuest DSV"
• Splashdown (band), a rock / trip hop band from Massachusetts
• Splashdown (video game), a console video game series (Splashdown and Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild) about racing jet-skis
• Splashdown (album), an album by the band Hot Tuna
• Splashdown Waterparks, two water parks operated by Lemur Leisure Ltd, in the United Kingdom. Splashdown Poole in Dorset and Splashdown Quaywest in Paignton, Devon.
• Splashdown Park, a water park in Tsawwassen, British Columbia, Canada
• Splashdown, an element on roller coasters
• Splashdown, a minor superhero from The Incredibles
• Splashdown (Transformers), a Transformers character

Splashdown, formed in Allston, Massachusetts, in 1996, was an American pop rock band. The group disbanded in 2001; their last show was at the release party for the debut CD of Freezepop on February 2 of that year. Splashdown gained a small but extremely loyal following in the Northeast United States for their combination of electronica, rock, jazz, and Middle-Eastern influences. The band is sometimes described as a trip hop act.

Splashdown is a water racing video game for the Xbox and Sony PlayStation 2. It can be played by one or two players. Splashdown is quite similar to Nintendo's Wave Race series. Players take control of a personal water craft as they race against each other on various courses. Players must pass the correct side of buoys on the way, or the personal water craft may stall as a penalty. Splashdown was one of 3 games that was published by Infogrames' newly revented Atari label, the other 2 games being MX Rider and TransWorld Surf.

It received a sequel, Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild, in 2003.

Splashdown is a Hot Tuna album released in 1984 containing the tracks from a previously unreleased live acoustic performance that had been played on the short-lived radio station WQIV in the mid-1970s. During the recording, news of the Apollo-Soyuz mission returning to Earth after the first USA-USSR rendezvous in space reached the station, and the astronauts' radio transmissions were played at the same time as Jorma and Jack continued with "Police Dog Blues." The transmissions mixed with the song were preserved for this release as the last track of side 1. The album was Hot Tuna's first release on Relix Records, and one of the first Relix releases. Jorma Kaukonen was signed on as a solo artist to the label as well. In 1997 an expanded version of the album was released as Splashdown Two.

Splashdown is a log flume located at Castles N' Coasters, a theme park in Phoenix, Arizona. It is noted for its two drops, as well as many other special features. The whole ride is themed after a logging expedition through Polynesia. Splashdown is also known for narrowly being dodged by the nearby Desert Storm roller coaster.