> The only real exception to this is return capsules with astronauts in them which are explicitly designed to land in the water and deploy buoys to keep themselves afloat while they wait for the Coast Guard to come pick them, and the capsule (which is a one-time-use component) up.
With SpaceX Dragon (both crew and cargo variants), the capsule is designed to be reusable, so it is no longer a “one-time-use” component. The same is true of Boeing Starliner and NASA/LockheedMartin Orion. “One-time-use” was true of previous ocean-landing capsules, such as Apollo’s Command Module, with the sole exception of the Jan 1965 Gemini 2 uncrewed testflight’s capsule, which was reused for another uncrewed testflight the next year, as part of USAF’s Manned Orbital Laboratory program (which was cancelled in 1969)
Of course, reuse after a spaceflight and ocean landing requires significant refurbishment. Also, both Starliner and Orion are only partially reusable, since both (like Apollo) have a service module designed to burn up on re-entry. Dragon likewise has a trunk, but Dragon’s trunk contains fewer spacecraft systems than Starliner or Orion’s service modules, making it more reusable overall.
With SpaceX Dragon (both crew and cargo variants), the capsule is designed to be reusable, so it is no longer a “one-time-use” component. The same is true of Boeing Starliner and NASA/LockheedMartin Orion. “One-time-use” was true of previous ocean-landing capsules, such as Apollo’s Command Module, with the sole exception of the Jan 1965 Gemini 2 uncrewed testflight’s capsule, which was reused for another uncrewed testflight the next year, as part of USAF’s Manned Orbital Laboratory program (which was cancelled in 1969)
Of course, reuse after a spaceflight and ocean landing requires significant refurbishment. Also, both Starliner and Orion are only partially reusable, since both (like Apollo) have a service module designed to burn up on re-entry. Dragon likewise has a trunk, but Dragon’s trunk contains fewer spacecraft systems than Starliner or Orion’s service modules, making it more reusable overall.