Aug 15, 2013 10:14 AM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

After 40 years of putting the practice on hold, the U.S. Navy has begun training for dives to recover astronauts and vessels after they crash land in the ocean from deep space missions, the Associated Press reported.

A team of Navy divers ran drills Thursday with the crew of the USS Arlington in the waters of the Naval Station Norfolk with a fake version of the Orion space capsule. In the 60s and 70s, the Navy performed such dives to recover astronauts from the Gemini, Mercury and Apollo spacecrafts.

"Of course, Arlington's crew of sailors and Marines and I are thrilled to be a part of this," Cmdr. Darren Nelson, the Arlington's commanding officer, said in a statement. "As the captain of a Navy warship, and for virtually every member of my crew, this opportunity to work with NASA is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Since the crew of the USS New Orleans recovered the astronauts from the Apollo in 1975, the Navy and NASA have not used this method. Afterward, astronauts began returning to Earth in space shuttles.

The U.S. is planning to start allowing private companies bring astronauts to and from the International Space Station, but NASA plans to use Orion for deep space exploration. Orion will fly an unmanned mission in 2017 and will carry astronauts on a mission in 2021. The craft's ultimate mission will be to reach an asteroid and then Mars.

The Navy recovery team will retrieve the spacecraft differently this time, not using helicopters. A team of boats will attach winch lines to the craft and the Arlington, which has an amphibious transport dock that can be intentionally flooded, and pull the Orion onto the deck.

"The Navy is excited to support NASA's continuing mission of space exploration," Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, said in a statement. "Our unique capabilities make us an ideal partner for NASA in the safe recovery of our astronauts in the 21st century - just as we did nearly a half century ago in support of America's quest to put a man on the moon."

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