To Date: Detachment 3, 1st Air Force is the new home of the DoD Human Spaceflight Support Operations (DoD HSFS). Formerly known as DoD Manned Support (DDMS). Located primarily at Patrick AFB, FL with some LNOs at Johnson
Space Center in Houston.
ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS OR OBJECTIVES: The HSFS Office is a Secretary of Defense chartered office, delegated by the Commander, USSPACECOM as the office of primary responsibility and principle liaison for all DoD HSFS
operations. The primary mission of HSFS includes coordinating astronaut rescue and recovery, medical evacuation and treatment, worldwide communications for supporting forces, weather monitoring and forecasting, airlift and sealift capabilities and landing site support. The unit is over 50 Navy, USAF, Army and USCG SMEs that work in various divisions depending on the role. We are comprised of Active Duty, Civil Service and Contractor personnel. We have grown to have 1 SERE, 2 CRO’s and 6 PJs that
serve as contractors or Civilian Servants to support this mission. We also recently got our 1st ever Active Duty PJ as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Commander. This is an E-8 billet.
We support three programs that currently involve 4
individual space craft:
Soyuz Program is a Russian program that NASA or NASA sponsored astronauts fly to the International Space Station (ISS). DoD HSFS role is to cover medical evacuation during landing contingencies. We use AE/CCATT units
stationed in Europe to support this requirement.
Commercial Crew Program is commercial ride to the ISS with Boeing CST-100 and SpaceX Dragon Capsules. Both hold a crew of 4 international astronauts. PJs cover this mission for a global rescue in
the event of a contingency landing in the water. DoD HSFS organizes, trains and equips our tasked PJs. To date we have supported 9 Launches and 8 landings with more on the horizon! The support is from Patrick, Charleston and Hawaii. We use C-17s for global reach with boats, jet skis and a ton of other rescue equipment/supply ready for air drop. We have made significant advances in over the horizon maritime rescue operations in addition to prolonged field care in these environments.
Last year we worked along side our Navy rescue counterparts with PJs and Navy Helicopters and SAR swimmers supporting from Patrick SFB using Navy Ships off shore as a fuel stop if needed. This year we are back to using King and Jolly assets to support from Florida making this mission truly Joint and adaptable in this ever changing DoD climate. Boeing and SpaceX are responsible for the landing sites. They have hired some former or retired PJs as contractors to support those
sites.
Artemis Program is the mission back to the moon and beyond. The Global rescue requirement looks the same as Commercial Crew. PJs staged to support in the same locations. The difference is recovery is done by the Navy much like they
did with Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. DoD HSFS sends 12 folks to sea with 500+ sailors and NASA teams working with Navy Helicopters, Divers, Surgical teams and Amphibious assault ships personnel to recover the crew and capsule.
Bottom line: the Space race isn’t slowing down, PJs will eventually get the call again like they did for Gemini 8!
Here are some links to news articles
https://www.spacecom.mil/Newsroom/News/Article-Display/Article/3131253/navy-helicopters-and-air-force-pararescue-forces-conduct-astronaut-recovery-exe/
https://www.spacecom.mil/Newsroom/News/Article-Display/Article/3481623/department-of-defense-completes-underway-recovery-test-10-with-nasa/
https://www.cpf.navy.mil/Newsroom/News/Article/3480436/department-of-defense-completes-underway-recovery-test-10-with-nasa/
https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2757162/38-rqs-trains-to-support-spacex-boeing/
https://www.pacom.mil/Media/Photos/igphoto/2002307180/
https://www.dvidshub.net/image/6583206/pararescue-personnel-train-recover-astronauts
https://www.dvidshub.net/image/6583206/pararescue-personnel-train-recover-astronauts
https://www.wftv.com/weather/space/crews-practice-search-and-rescue-at-sea-using-boeing-training-capsule-for-1st-time/942783350/
https://afspecialwarfare.com/pararescue-support-to-nasa/
Navy Helicopters and Air Force Pararescue Forces Conduct Astronaut Recovery Exercise
By Staff ReportU.S. Space
Command
PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. – U.S. Space Command held an exercise Aug. 1-5 at Patrick Space Force Base, Fl., in preparation for the upcoming launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5, targeted for no earlier than September 29, 2022.
As the Department of Defense’s
Human Space Flight Support Manager, USSPACECOM coordinates global DoD support for the rescue and recovery of human exploration events for NASA’s Artemis and Commercial Crew Program missions.
“This exercise led to increased confidence, trust, and understanding across organizations resulting in improvements to tactics,” said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Richard Zellmann, deputy director of USSPACECOM’s operations
directorate. “Our team is prepared to support NASA’s manned spaceflight missions as the U.S. enters a new-era of space exploration.”
First Air Force, Detachment 3 (Det. 3), the USSPACECOM-appointed lead of Human Space Flight Support, oversaw the integration of a Navy helicopter squadron, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28, and an Air Force pararescue squadron, the 48th Rescue Squadron, during the exercise.
Participants trained in real-world settings meant to simulate the recovery of astronauts in emergency situations during launch or recovery.
“This validation exercise is very unique in the fact that we have been using predominately Air Force assets for 60 years,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Nick “Rambo” Pettit, Det. 3’s director of operations. “The integration of the Navy requires us to work-out any potential issues
before an actual launch or recovery.”
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch Dragon and the Crew-5 astronauts to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the unlikely event of an emergency – either before or during launch – Dragon is designed to safely separate from the Falcon 9 booster and land in the ocean.
Navy Cmdr. Chris Lewis, executive officer of HSC-28, talked about why the validation exercise was crucial the Sailors and Airmen that will support the launch.
“First and foremost, we have to get on the same page from a terminology standpoint,” he said, noting that Sailors and Airmen have different names for different components during rescue
operations. “We’ve been able to be critical, and come away with valuable lessons learned from a joint perspective, and that’s ultimately going to help us save lives in the unfortunate scenario we are needed.”
Det. 3’s Lt. Col. Pettit also spoke about how Air Force “Guardian Angel” pararescue forces have specialized training specific to astronaut recovery. One of those “Guardian Angels,” Tech. Sgt. Mike Bair from
the 48th Rescue Squadron, spoke about his unit’s unique capabilities.
“The astronauts are prone to high-altitude related medical issues that we know how to deal with,” he said. “We also have equipment that will test to see if there are hazardous substances unique to space travel that we need to worry about while making a recovery.”
The DoD has been partnered with NASA for over 50 years. USSPACECOM is proud to routinely partner with NASA on activities that advance our respective military and civil space missions and support the nation’s space endeavors.
