Seen through a pair of Air Force issued night-vision goggles, 920th Rescue Wing Airmen prepare
to take to the skies to secure the Eastern Range in support of the SpaceX COTS-2 launch.
began supporting the U.S. Space Program in 1961, I was
the first, and I was very humbled for the opportunity.
Although America’s human spaceflight program is
currently 100% dependent on Russia since the retirement
of NASA’s Space Shuttle program, the 920th’s role
supporting unmanned rocket launches from the Cape
is still as active, and as important, as it has ever been.
Hawks
& Falcons
Crews take to the skies in one of the most
sophisticated helicopters in the world, the HH-60G
Pave Hawk, a “Black Hawk on steroids” according
to Captain Cathleen Snow, Chief of Public Affairs
for the 920th Rescue Wing. They feature an
upgraded communications and navigation suite
that includes integrated inertial navigation/global
positioning/Doppler navigation systems, and satellite
communications. They are also equipped with an
automatic flight control system, night vision, and a
forward looking infrared system - known as color radar
- that greatly enhances night low-level operations and
allows them to fly in virtually any weather, day or night.
Many of the Pave Hawks flown by the 920th still have
42
42
bullet holes from their tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, a
sobering reminder of the reality of their jobs as combatsearch-and-rescue airmen.
I arrived at Patrick AFB at 12:30 a.m. May 19 for
our flight supporting the first launch attempt. After
security checks, I proceeded to go meet the crew and
conduct the standard pre-flight briefing. The briefing is
incredibly thorough, nothing is missed, everything from
contingency plans in case of an emergency, to radio
frequencies, to the positions of both Pave Hawks at
launch time is covered.
Both Pave Hawk crews were also brought up to
speed on the launch itself and the details of the
COTS-2 mission, and they were not shy about showing
their excitement for a one-second launch window as
opposed to a typical two- or three-hour launch window.
Our Pave Hawk would patrol north of the launch site,
call sign Jolly 1. The other (Jolly 2) would patrol to the
south of the launch site.
Once everyone was briefed it was time to put on
our flight gear and life support equipment. The building
where we geared up, at first glance, resembles a
locker room at any gym, except instead of football
helmets and di