Reservists clear path for GPS satellite

  • Published
  • By 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs Office
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Members of the 920th Rescue Wing provided range-clearance and safety support for the successful launch of a navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System at 8:03 p.m. May 16 from Space Launch Complex 37 at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket carried the Air Force's sixth Block IIF-6 satellite into orbit roughly 11,000 miles above Earth, where it joined a worldwide timing and navigation system of two dozen other GPS satellites. The 920 Rescue Wing sends helicopters to clear the Eastern Range prior to every launch. The Eastern Range is a 70-mile long by 10-mile wide section of ocean delineating a rocket's launch path, which must be cleared of all marine and air traffic prior to launch to ensure aircraft and boaters are a safe distance from potentially-falling rocket debris. The 920th Rescue Wing's primary mission is combat search and rescue, which includes rescuing downed pilots. The wing also conducts civil search and rescue, and humanitarian relief. To date, the unit has saved more than 3,000 lives, both in peacetime and combat.