Atlas 5 keeps GPS moving forward

  • Published
  • By 920th Public Affairs
  • 920th Public Affairs
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, FLA --  Air Force Reserve combat-search-and-rescue Airmen from the 920th Rescue Wing, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., supported the successful launch of an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, on Aug. 1. The rocket carried a payload that included a GPS replacement satellite called the 2F-7.

The 2F-7 spacecraft will be the seventh of Boeing's dozen Block to be launched. The GPS replacement satellites are scheduled to be the backbone of the GPS network for the next 15 years.

The Reserve Airmen work side-by-side their active duty counterparts at the 45th Space Wing to maintain safety on the range for each rocket that launches from the Space Coast.

Rescue Wing Airmen who pilot the HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter took flight several hours before the scheduled launch to secure the Eastern Range. They patrolled the stretch of Atlantic Ocean beneath the launch trajectory ensuring no mariners veered into harm's way of potential rocket debris hazards.

The 920th RQW performs combat search and rescue as its primary mission, which includes rescuing downed pilots. Additionally the 920th RQW is responsible for civil search and rescue, humanitarian relief and support of rocket launches. To date, the unit has saved more than 3,000 lives, both in peacetime and combat.