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Capt. Brian Capps, left, and 1st Lt. Dario Plazas work with NASA to manage and determine a clear launch window for a simulated launch of a Delta II rocket. Captain Capps is the chief contingency training officer and Lieutenant Plazas is simulating the part of the Air Force launch crew commander. 1st Lt. Greg Strong and Joel Tumbiolo discuss preparations for the launch of shuttle mission STS- 119. Lieutenant Strong is a range weather operations flight commander and Tumbiolo is a NASA launch weather officer from the 45th Weather Squadron, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. “The rocket team hits the bull’s eye. We make sure that once the spacecraft is in orbit that the spacecraft works as designed and then is able to activate and perform its mission,” said Lt. Col. John Wagner, the 45th LCSS commander. “There are lots and lots of checks. It is not just about a technician turning a wrench; it is about us verifying it, recording it and reviewing it. We come as close to perfection as we can. We are and have to be methodical. This is our last chance to get it right. You cannot bring a satellite back to earth and modify it.” Air Force specialists even monitor payloads being prepared before they are mated with launch vehicles. Tech. Sgt. Bobby Chrum, a mission assurance technician with the 45th LCSS, works with con- tractors to make certain a satellite is fully operational prior to being launched. Dressed in an all-white jumpsuit with a hairnet, Sergeant Chrum works in a sterile environment as the satellite is processed and readied to be loaded onto a rocket. “I watch over all their procedures and verify that criteria set up by the Air Force are followed,” said Sergeant Chrum. “Nothing is perfect, and that is why we are here. The potential is always there for a speck of dirt or a loose screw, so we are an extra set of eyes, but we strive for perfection.” Another satellite system put into orbit by the 45th SW is the Global Positioning System that helps warfighters know exactly where they are or where a weapon system should be placed using guided weapons. GPS is relied upon by a wide range of civil, scientific and commercial functions that most people aren’t even aware of. GPS satellites support maritime shipping and air travel, and today you can find GPS systems in people’s cars and cell phones. The precise timing provided by GPS satellites are used worldwide by banking institutions every time you swipe your debit or credit card. All of the GPS satellites used today were launched at the most active space launch complex in the world, Cape Canaveral AFS. “We simply have to get these missions right,” said Brig. Gen. Edward L. “Ed” Bolton Jr., commander, 45th SW. “In our business, you may get a second count, but you can’t have a second chance. Space power is pivotal to the success of U.S. military operations. In an era of declining manpower and resources, space-based capabilities allow us to provide intelligence, global positioning, weather and com- munications information directly to the warfighters and this enables the American military to be more lethal with a smaller force.” Wing officials operate Cape Canaveral AFS and the 15-million square mile Eastern Range, which is a network of instrumentation sites that track launch vehicles. But nothing could be accomplished without the constant attention to and awareness of the weather. Forecasters must warn officials if storms or strong winds might hamper maintenance on launch vehicles or their movement to launch pads. The 45th Weather Squadron Weather Operations Center provides day-to-day weather support for Air Force assets and NASA officials. Unit personnel have a joint relationship with the National Weather Service in Melbourne, Fla., to help protect base assets and share information with the National Weather Service to keep people who live in the area informed of pending hurricanes or severe storms. In addition, the Space Shuttle cannot launch without the guidance and forecasts of the 45th WS staff. “A lot of decisions made by NASA officials throughout the count- down to launch rely on our forecasts,” said 1st Lt. Greg Strong, range weather operations flight commander at Cape Canaveral AFS. “We have a joint relationship with the space flight meteorology group in Houston, and we support the shuttle while it is on the ground at Kennedy Space Center until the shuttle leaves the launch pad and even if it lands back at Cape Canaveral AFS. There is also a launch weather officer dedicated to the NASA mission who gives timely updates every day leading up to a launch, and on the day of launch, a team of launch weather officers give direct support to NASA.” NASA and Air Force missions here depend on weather forecasts for launches and whenever work is done on launch vehicles on the launch pads. Winds and storms are monitored by Air Force weather forecasters, and being on the East Coast, hurricane season keeps eyes focused on Atlantic storms. But the most dangerous weather-related phenomenon is lightning, as Cape Canaveral AFS is in the lightning capital of the country. “From Tampa up to Daytona, there are more flashes of lightning per kilometer than anywhere else,” the lieutenant said. Air Force officials learned to observe and better predict lightning in the atmosphere after an Atlas-Centaur 67 launched from here March 26, 1987. Even though there was no actual lightning occur- ring in the area, after the vehicle launched there was so much elec- tric charge built up in the atmosphere that it triggered a lightning strike that severely damaged the rocket and it had to be destroyed 54 seconds after launch. Lightning is just one of more than 20 weather conditions that could prompt 45th WS officials to halt launches as the forecasters inform launch officials of all conditions that may prevent a successful launch. “The National Lightning Detection System shows where light- ning happened, but here we now have a system that gives us a three-dimensional view that can read conditions in the atmosphere so we can forecast the likelihood of a lightning occurrence,” said Lieutenant Strong. “We have to do our best to mitigate the likelihood of anything negatively happening for all launches.” ✪ may-June 2009 31