A
nyone who has witnessed a Space Shuttle or
rocket launch in person from Cape Canaveral,
Florida has probably seen the Pave Hawk
helicopters patrolling up and down the coast in the
hours before launch. The airmen onboard serve a
critical role for every launch - providing safety and
security surveillance to the Eastern Launch Range.
Simply put, if they do not secure the range, rockets do
not launch.
The 920th Rescue Wing, based out of Patrick Air
Force Base, serves as an Air Force Reserve Command
combat-search-and-rescue unit. They are responsible
for a variety of demanding missions, ready to deploy at
a moments notice, and trained to perform some of the
most highly specialized operations in the Air Force.
They were the primary rescue force serving as
“guardians of the astronauts” for 50 years, providing
contingency response for a variety of emergencies
that could potentially come up during a Space Shuttle
launch or landing. These airmen and their elite team
of Pararescuemen, known as PJs, are among the most
highly trained emergency trauma specialists in the
U.S. military, capable of performing life-saving missions
anywhere in the world, at any time.
In addition to combat search and rescue operations,
the 920th also provides search and rescue support
for civilians at sea who are lost or in distress, as well
as providing worldwide humanitarian and disasterrelief operations supporting rescue efforts in the
aftermath of disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and
hurricanes. When a covert four-man Navy SEAL team
was ambushed and surrounded in a Taliban counter
attack high in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan
in the summer of 2005, the 920th is who they called for
rescue.
In the spring of 2012, I was invited by the 920th to
fly along on a range-clearing mission to support the
historic launch of the first SpaceX Dragon spacecraft
to the International Space Station. The mission, known
as COTS-2, was the first to see a commercial company
deliver supplies to the orbiting outpost, which orbits
some 250 miles above Earth. No photojournalist had
ever flown with the 920th for any launch since they
Originally produced by Mike Killian
for ARES Institute’s Zero-G News.
All photography by Mike Killian.
www.RocketSTEM.org
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