CHS Vlad Link ‘06 Inspires Students to Dream Big after Helping Artemis Crew II Return to Home

The following article was published by the Boston Globe on Thursday, April 16. It profiles the role of Vlad Link, a 2006 Chelsea High School graduate and Chief Hospital Corpsman in the U.S. Navy, on the medical team that greeted the Artemis II crew in the water when they returned to Earth on Friday, April 10. 

Chief Hospital Corpsman Vlad Link, a Navy medical diver and Chelsea native, told reporters Thursday he’ll never forget becoming one of the first people to greet the Artemis II crew back on Earth Friday.

“Participating in the recovery of Artemis II and the crew and the spacecraft was the opportunity of a lifetime,” Link said during a press conference Thursday. “When I started in Chelsea, I didn’t imagine myself here today. It was one of my dreams, but all the hard work paid off.”

Link was on the team who entered the capsule to evaluate the four astronauts after they completed their historic nine-day mission to the moon. 

“The City of Chelsea and our State Representative Judith García, who is a dear friend of Vlad's, are incredibly proud of Vlad for his integral role in tonight’s historic Artemis II splashdown," the City of Chelsea wrote in a Facebook post Friday. ”We’re also proud that he represents our state, and as someone of Russian and Latino heritage, we’re especially proud that he represents the Latin community on this historic mission.”

Link, a member of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit in San Diego, has 18years of experience in dive medicine, according to the Navy. Link said he knew he wanted to become a Navy medical diver since early childhood.

Being a student-athlete on the football and track teams at Chelsea high school set him up for success, according to Link. He graduated in 2006 and while Chelsea back then “had his issues”, a lot of the teachers at Link’s school encouraged him to never stop dreaming big, he said.

But dreams come with hard work, Link said. The team started training for the Artemis IIsplash down three years ago. He said the years of practicing every possible scenario helped him calm his nerves when it was finally show time.

Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego at 8:07 p.m. Friday ESTfollowing the astronauts’ flyby mission, according to NASA.

“That was just pure excitement and joy of opening that hatch and getting to the crew,” he said. “We don’t call them astronauts. We call them crew. The term is something very special for them.”

“Lets go,” you can hear Link shouting in the video showing the medical dive team opening the capsule and greeting the smiling astronauts.

The divers reported that the whole Artemis crew had a clean bill of health, according toNASA’s ground control. Link and the first-contact team handed off the astronauts to helicopters that took them to the dock of the USS John P. Murtha, completing the first safe return of humans from a moon mission in more than 50 years, officials said.

Link said he has been in awe since. “Even when I opened that capsule, I could not believe [what I did] until the next day,” he said. “I came home, I sat down, and I was with my family and it hit me.” 

 

One of his loudest supporters along the journey has been Rep. García. Link and García attended the same high school and have maintained a close friendship since.

“We were both very nerdy and aspirational,” she said. “That’s how we met. He was a few years ahead of me, but I was very young and always seeking mentorship and individuals that were looking for academic challenges.”

García and Link, who both come from humble beginnings, shared a dream of wanting to serve their community.

“I always say his aspiration was to somehow work in NASA and serve his country and forme, my aspiration was to serve my city,” García said.

García, 35, hopes that having a local hero will serve as an inspiration to children inChelsea.
“Chelsea has its fair share of challenges,” she said. “It was a strong message for Chelsea that it doesn’t matter where you’re from. It doesn’t matter your income status, what matters is having passion, education, and you can reach anything in this country.”

During his press conference, Link encouraged the young generation in Chelsea to never stop dreaming. He thanked the community for their overwhelming support.

“I’m proud to represent the entire military service of the people that come from Chelsea,and that support has always been there,” he said. “If they hear an accomplishment, they cheer you up. I am getting messages, phone calls, that they are thankful and they are proud that we’re representing Chelsea across the entire nation.”