Reserve Airmen support fourth launch of unmanned reusable spacecraft

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  • By 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Reservists from the 920th Rescue Wing provided range-clearance and safety support for the successful launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 11:05 a.m. EST, May 20, from Space Launch Complex 41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Onboard the rocket was the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV). The OYV is an experimental test program to demonstrate technologies for a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the U.S. Air Force.

The primary objectives of the X-37B are twofold: reusable spacecraft technologies for America's future in space and operating experiments which can be returned to, and examined, on Earth.

The successful launch marked the fourth trip into orbit for the OTV.

Hours before launch, two wing HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters took off from Patrick AFB to patrol the Eastern Range, the 70-mile long by 10-mile wide swath of ocean extending east from the Cape that must be cleared of all air & marine traffic prior to every launch to ensure boaters are a safe distance from potentially falling rocket debris.

The 920th performs combat search and rescue as its primary mission, which includes rescuing servicemembers trapped and or wounded behind enemy lines.

Additionally, the wing is responsible for civil search and rescue, humanitarian relief and support of rocket launches. To date, the unit has saved more than 4,000 lives, both in peacetime and combat.

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