National Security

Space Force’s Guardian Angels: The crack squad that keeps astronauts alive if things go wrong

By Abraham Mahshie
Published November 20, 2020 10:32am ET
Add Washington Examiner on Google
Space Force’s Guardian Angels: The crack squad that keeps astronauts alive if things go wrong
Personnel from the 45th Operations Group, Detachment 3, simulate astronaut rescue and recovery operations, Dec 12, 2018 off the coast of Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla. As the U.S. prepares to return to human spaceflight, DET 3 in coordination with NASA and commercial partners, will play a direct role in rescue and recovery of astronauts because they are the only Department of Defense unit responsible for all aspects of human spaceflight recovery including planning of rescue tactics, real-world execution, and overall command and control of the human spaceflight mission. | U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dalton Williams

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — When Space Force’s future first astronaut, U.S. Air Force Col. Michael Hopkins stepped onto the SpaceX capsule for Crew 1 liftoff Sunday, 21 of Space Force’s “Guardian Angels” were at the ready to rescue him should he need to abort and splashdown anywhere on earth.

“The dudes jump out of the aircraft in the middle of the ocean,” Joint Operations Center Director Air Force Lieut. Col. David Mahan told the Washington Examiner in describing a potential emergency scenario.

Already a print subscriber? Click here to login/register your account

Trusted reporting.Unlimited access.

Subscribe for full access to Washington Examiner coverage, expert political analysis, and subscriber-only journalism.

Get Unlimited Access

Already a member? Log in

Cancel anytime.

Tag:

Air Force Department of Defense (Department of War) Florida NASA Pentagon Space Force SpaceX