Irish Coast Guard on standby to rescue crew of US SpaceX rocket if emergency occurs

The SpaceX Falcon 9, with the Dragon capsule on top of the rocket, is raised onto Launch Pad 39-A. Picture: AP Photo/David J. Phillip

The Irish Coast Guard will lead any search and rescue operation off the Irish coast this evening in the unlikely event that the crew of SpaceX’s Demo-2 mission are forced to ditch in the Atlantic Ocean.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft are due to lift off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida tonight at 9.33pm Irish time in what will be the first launch from the United States of astronauts to the International Space Station since 2011.