Skip To Main Content

From Bellarmine to Artemis: Angelo Loreno ’07 Helps Bring Astronauts Home

Post RSS Feeds
From Bellarmine to Artemis: Angelo Loreno ’07 Helps Bring Astronauts Home
a military helicopter with people in flies over the ocean

When the crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean following their historic journey around the Moon, one of the first people to greet them was Bellarmine alumnus Angelo Loreno ’07.  

Lonero served as the Aircraft Commander on Recovery 42, one of the US Navy helicopters responsible for transporting astronauts from NASA’s Orion spacecraft to the recovery ship, the USS John P. Murtha. 

“It was a great honor and privilege to be part of such a high-profile, historic mission,” Lonero says. 

A veteran naval aviator, Lonero has spent the past 12 years flying the MH-60S Seahawk helicopter and has completed four operational deployments supporting missions throughout the Middle East and Indo-Pacific region. He was selected for the Artemis II recovery effort because of his extensive flight experience and leadership within the Navy’s Helicopter Sea Combat community. 

The recovery marked another chapter in a longstanding partnership between NASA and the Navy that originated during Project Mercury, the first human spaceflight program in the United States. For Lonero, participating in the splashdown mission meant joining a distinguished lineage of naval aviators who have helped recovery astronauts following some of humanity’s most historic achievements in space exploration. 

four military servicemembers stand on a ship with the sea behind them and smile

What stands out most from the experience, he says, was landing aboard the USS John P. Murtha and seeing the astronauts’ excitement after making history together. “Hearing how excited and happy they were to be back safely and accomplishing the mission was incredible,” he recalls. 

Looking back, Lonero credits Bellarmine with helping prepare him for a career of service and leadership. 

“Bellarmine cultivated my commitment to service for others,” he shares. “I was taught the value of balancing intellectual, personal, and spiritual growth into the development of a professional career. The lessons I learned at Bellarmine inspired my commitment to service, as a naval officer, in the US Navy.”