KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – When the Crew Dragon capsule goes up, it must come down in the water. If there's a launch abort, in-flight abort, or even in-orbit abort, Crew Dragon will come down in the water.
Anywhere in the world. Task Force 45 Detachment 3 is the unit of the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force base tasked with recovering the capsule and rescuing the astronauts as quickly as possible.
Lt. Col. Michael Thompson, Commander of the 45th Operations Group, said if the capsule lands within 200 miles of Cape Canaveral, his unit will have the astronauts safe and dry within an hour.
That would be an easy mission. "The biggest challenge in this mission is the tyranny of distance and the unknown of where the capsule may come down,"