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During last year's hurricanes, the runway at Patrick was used by emergency management personnel as a landing base for support up and down the East coast.

Technical sergeant Christopher McNemar checks a panel of instruments as senior airman Djonne Stevens, left, works with senior airman Cynthia Shaffer.

With all the air traffic and aircraft equipment travelers see as they go down A1A at Patrick Air Force Base they might be surprised to learn that the 45th Space Wing has no active flying units.

Instead the wing’s airfield operations unit operates and maintains three airfields and provides support to the 920 Rescue Wing, an Air Force Reserve unit and independent tenant of the base; NASA Kennedy Space Center aircraft at the NASA hangar; and Air Force and Navy flying units during mission stopovers.
Because the wing is responsible for overseeing and tracking launches at the Eastern Test Range, having the airfields is a necessity. The runways are used for needs including receiving rocket parts and other equipment for the range and allowing for the airborne support of the 920 Rescue Wing during launch windows, said Col. David Thompson, commander of the 45th Operations Group.

“The airfields are essential for us to fulfill our mission but they also are put to use for other military and government needs,” Thompson said.
For example, during last year’s series of hurricanes, the runway at Patrick was used by emergency management personnel as a landing base for support up and down the East coast as needed.

“The wing was glad to be of service in the recovery effort,” Thompson said.
The wing’s most active airfield is at Patrick. The airfield features an air traffic control tower and other necessary infrastructure. Its two connected runways, the primary at 9,000 feet and secondary at 4,000 feet, host an average of 260 takeoffs and landings each week.
Some of the field’s traffic is created by the 920 Rescue Wing, which trains in the area, supports local missions and is called to various points in the United States and overseas to support military and civilian rescue efforts, including downed pilot recoveries and hurricane victim evacuation.

The rescue wing originally was based at Homestead Air Force Base, but then moved to Patrick after the devastation of Hurricane Andrew.
NASA KSC aircraft, including NASA 4, a Gulfstream aircraft used to transport NASA personnel to other space centers and support sites, and several helicopters used for NASA missions, operate out of a hangar on the airfield.

Additional airfield activity comes from transient aircraft delivering mission equipment including radar, telemetry and other range hardware.

The airfield additionally supports training activities and stopovers from other military installations, including C-17 cargo aircraft from Charleston Air Force Base and Navy P-3 aircraft from Jacksonville. The C-17s, which are used to land cargo on war fields practice assault landings on Patrick’s short runway.

The airfield is also used by a military aero club and other aircraft “by prior permission.” Civilian non-government aircraft in general are not allowed to land at the base as there are several other airports in the area.

“But of course if someone is having an emergency they can use our runway,” Thompson said.

The wing operates the “skid strip” at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The 10,000-foot runway has limited infrastructure, which is temporarily ramped up for landings and takeoffs. Because of its proximity to launch operations it is often used for the delivery of rocket parts as well as radar and telemetry equipment destined for the station. It is also used for other needs including receiving NASA dignitaries.

“While there’s only an average of about four takeoffs and landings there a week the strip is important in helping us fulfill our mission,” Thompson said.

The wing’s most far-flung airfield operations responsibility is the auxiliary airfield on Ascension Island with its 10,000-foot runway. The island, 5,000 miles down range of Cape Canaveral and part of British territory, hosts a tracking station that’s a part of the Eastern Test Range.

The Ascension airfield serves an average of 13 takeoffs and landings each week. It’s used to deliver telemetry equipment and personnel for launch operations and to support a British Squadron that uses it for such needs as a stopover point on journeys to the Falkland Islands.

“We have synergistic relationships with our partners and that allow us to do all that we do,” Thompson said.

127 airfield support personnel (military and contractor) support the three airfields. Contractors are Computer Sciences Raytheon, Magtag and Space Gateway Support.