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A unicorn, not only being the emblem for an obscure (at least to me) program, but also in that it doesn’t quite match up with the other ‘more prevalent’ version of it. Maybe it’s an “oops” printing, since “Manned Spaceflight Program” (MSP?), which is not an actual/recognized term/acronym ≠ MSE. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The design is a variation of the NASA Astronaut pin/device. See forthcoming linked image below.
Lengthy, but interesting:
“Blue Shuttle: The Manned Spaceflight Engineer Program
The Manned Spaceflight Engineer (MSE) Program was an attempt to train American military personnel as payload specialists for Department of Defense (DoD) Space Shuttle missions. Only two of the thirty-two MSE's selected flew in space in the nine years the program was active.
Since its official beginning in 1969, the US Air Force (USAF) and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) participated in the development of the Space Shuttle. The most prominent military influence on the vehicle is the size of the orbiter's payload bay. Still retaining the desire to fly all-military space missions, like with the previous decade's Man In Space, X-20 Dynamic Soarer, and Manned Orbiting Laboratory programs, the DoD wanted its own Shuttles flown by its own crews. When this so-called "Blue Shuttle" was not granted, the Air Force settled with their own astronauts hitching rides with NASA missions to handle highly classified payloads, thus beginning the MSE Program.
The DoD required the MSE program to consist of officers from the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Each officer would remain at NASA for four to six years during which he or she would fly at least one Space Shuttle mission before returning to their respective branch. The requirements for the first group of candidates were the following:
- Have at least three to ten years of service as an officer on active duty
- Hold rank from First Lieutenant to Major
- Be able to pass the NASA Class III physical exam (required for all NASA payload specialists)
- Hold a Bachelor of Science in engineering, science, or space operations
- Have a minimum of two years of experience in program acquisition or testing and launch support of flight and missile operations
Flight backgrounds were not required but candidates also needed appropriate security clearances to be able to work on specific classified payloads. Originally, twelve Air Force and two Navy officers were chosen but one from each branch declined. The naval officer was not replaced but the Air Force officer was replaced by Gary Payton. The thirteen MSE's were selected in 1979. All officers could anticipate flying at least once and some twice.
- 1st Lt. Frank Casserino, USAF
- 1st Lt. Jeffrey Detroye, USAF
- Capt. Michael Halem, USAF
- Capt. Terry Higbee, USAF
- Capt. Daryl Joseph, USAF
- Capt. Malcolm Lydon, USAF
- Capt. Gary Payton, USAF
- Capt. Jerry Rij, USAF
- Maj. Paul Sefchek, USAF
- Maj. Eric Sundberg, USAF
- Lt. Cmdr. David Vidrine, USN
- Capt. Keith Wright, USAF
- Capt. Brett Watterson, USAF
At the time, NASA had yet to define its own payload specialist training program so the agency was not sure how to train the new MSE's. The Air Force did not want the MSE's to go through standard NASA astronaut training because they were supposed to enter back into the service after their Shuttle flights— most military officers who became NASA astronauts never returned. When the Air Force refused to put its own astronaut candidates through general NASA training, the agency refused to provide any assistance: It was NASA's belief that since it did not select the MSE's, it did not have control over them. This led to persistent tension between NASA and the visiting MSE's. The DoD came up with its own training program, consisting of underwater EVA and manned maneuvering unit simulations at NASA Marshall and Martin Marietta [1], Shuttle mission simulations at Rockwell [2], and T-38 training at Edwards Air Force Base for those with previous flight experience. In late 1981, the first cadre of MSE's completed training.
The second class of MSE's, this time consisting of fourteen Air Force officers, was selected in August 1982 and began training the following May. Selection criteria were the same but did not emphasize science, engineering, and space operations backgrounds. For example, Captains James Armor and Craig Puz were commanders of Minuteman missile crews while Captain Randy Odle was a bio-environmental researcher at RAF Alconbury in the United Kingdom. This cadre included two women, 1st Lieutenant Maureen LaComb and Captain Katherine Roberts, and one African American, Captain Livingston Holder. Captain Charles Jones was killed in the September 11 hijacking in 2001 [3]. Due to the size of the MSE corps, the second class was told only half of them might fly in space.
- Capt. James Armor
- 1st Lt. Michael Booen
- Capt. Livingston Holder
- Capt. Larry James
- Capt. Charles Jones
- 1st Lt. Maureen LaComb
- Capt. Michael Mantz
- Capt. Randy Odle
- Capt. William Pailes
- Capt. Craig Puz
- Capt. Katherine Roberts
- Capt. Jess Sponable
- Capt. W. Davis Thompson
- Capt. Glenn Yeakel
MSE's Sefchek and Watterson worked on the STS-4 payload, the P-80-1 experiment package, while Casserino, Detroye, and Payton were "paycoms" (payload communicators) at the Air Force Satellite Control Facility in Sunnydale, California. In early 1982, seven MSE's were chosen as prime and backup candidates for three Shuttle missions scheduled for 1983 and '84. These flights were delayed due to issues with their payloads [4], which were developed by TRW, Hughes, Martin Marietta, and Lockheed under the direction of the NRO. Setbacks in the program reignited the decades-old debate inside the Air Force on the usefulness and feasibility of manned spaceflight. It also resulted in the DoD developing a new unmanned rocket capable of launching Shuttle payload bay-sized payloads into geosynchronous orbit, an orbit frequently occupied by military satellites. This vehicle became the Titan IV and flew from 1989 to 2005. Vidrine was a candidate for a payload specialist "observer" on STS-41-C (originally STS-13) and participated in flight simulations with commander Bob Crippen. One month before the scheduled April launch the Space Division refused to authorize Vidrine's flight because it had "no value" to the Air Force and he was removed from the crew. In late 1985 three officers from the Air Weather Service were selected for the Weather Officer in Space Experiment flight which never took place [5].
In late 1984, Brett Watterson was assigned as payload specialist to STS-62A, the planned first Shuttle mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Two successful DoD-dedicated Shuttle missions flew Gary Payton and William Pailes of the second class in 1985. This resulted in an additional five DoD missions scheduled for 1986 and '87 along with STS-62A and two launches of the Navstar GPS satellites. A third cadre of five more MSE's rounded out the program's astronaut corps in 1985.
- Capt. Joseph Caretto
- Capt. Robert Crombie
- Capt. Frank DeArmond
- Capt. David Staib
- 1st Lt. Teresa Stevens
After the Challenger disaster in early 1986, however, NASA was more concerned with making it safe to fly again than it was with the MSE's. Administrator James Fletcher expressed the desire to fly five-member crews and potentially eliminate the position of "payload specialist". By the end of 1987, only ten officers remained active. The Manned Spaceflight Engineer program ended in 1988 primarily due to lack of need for crewed DoD missions now that an uncrewed heavy-lift launch vehicle was available [6]. The DoD, yet again, had lost manned space capability.
Black and Blue: The Real DoD Shuttle Missions
Despite the unsuccessfulness of the Manned Spaceflight Engineer program, a total of eleven Shuttle flights flew with classified payloads and required a higher level of secrecy than regular NASA flights. Although the DoD requested the media not disclose flight details to maintain confidentiality, the press nonetheless reported whatever they could using open-source intelligence. An example of this is correlating the direction of the Shuttle after liftoff with orbital inclination— different payloads require different orbits to operate properly. Unlike with other Shuttle missions, NASA began public countdowns for DoD launches only a few minutes before liftoff, did not distribute press kits, and did not broadcast Shuttle-to-ground communications. With two exceptions, only active-duty military NASA astronauts flew these missions [7]. Below are those missions:
- STS-4
- STS-51C
- STS-51J
- STS-27
- STS-28
- STS-33
- STS-36
- STS-38
- STS-39
- STS-44
- STS-53
In 1993, after the final DoD mission flew, all crew members of classified flights were awarded the National Intelligence Achievement Medal. Some details of these missions are still classified three or four decades later.
California Dreamin': Vandenberg and the Space Shuttle
The DoD was also interested in flying polar-orbital Shuttle missions. These flights could not launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida because they would have flown over populated areas along the southeastern United States. Additionally, the external fuel tank would have traveled over not only Canada but Soviet Russia and possibly China. Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6 or "Slick Six") was constructed at Vandenberg Air Force Base (now Space Force Base) in California in the mid-1960s to support Titan III launches for the Manned Orbiting Laboratory program. It was refurbished and upgraded in the '80s for the Space Shuttle. The planned inaugural flight was to be STS-62A Discovery launching in the summer of 1986. Its primary objective was to deploy Teal Ruby, an experimental early warning satellite. The mission also would have performed a series of Earth atmospheric observations using telescopes and instruments in the orbiter's payload bay. Payload specialist no. 2 was Brett Watterson, an MSE from the first class of DoD astronauts. Due to the poor relationship between NASA astronauts and MSE's, Under Secretary of the Air Force and NRO Director Pete Aldridge was named payload specialist no. 1. After the mission was cancelled post-Challenger, STS-62A's pilot and two mission specialists (Guy Gardner, Mike Mullane, and Jerry Ross, respectively) flew STS-27 in 1988. Aldridge was promoted to Secretary of the Air Force.
Although STS-62-A was the only mission with a full crew planned before Californian operations ceased, two more missions were in the early planning stages. STS-62B, set to launch in late 1986 [8], would have included Kathrine Roberts as a payload specialist and would have deployed the KH-12 Advanced Kennan reconnaissance satellite. STS-82B would have deployed the Cosmic Background Explorer observatory, which later launched on a Delta rocket in 1989. Aldridge directed the Air Force to transfer all Shuttle assets from Vandenberg to the Kennedy Space Center and the Vandenberg extension of the Shuttle program was terminated on December 26, 1989. SLC-6 and its sister pads on the west coast are still active, though, and the most recent launch from SLC-6 was a Delta IV Heavy on April 26, 2021.
[1] Martin Marietta was responsible for the Manned Maneuvering Unit, a "jetpack" that allowed astronauts to perform untethered EVAs.
[2] Space Shuttle orbiters were assembled at Rockwell's facility in Palmdale, California.
[3] He is memorialized at the North Pool on Panel N-74 at the National 9/11 Memorial
[4] These missions are difficult to describe because they are listed by their original designations, such as STS-16. STS-16 was later designated STS-41-H. However, no mission called STS-41-H ever took place. The original STS-16 may have taken place in 1985 instead, giving it a new designation such as STS-51-[letter].
[5] I was unable to find any further information about the Weather Officer in Space Experiment but what I included in this post came from the reference with the asterisk (*)
[6] Similarly, twenty years earlier a more reliable unmanned reconnaissance satellite caused the cancellation of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory program.
[7] The exceptions are former Marine Story Musgrave and former DoD scientist Kathryn Thornton, both of whom flew on STS-33.
[8] Discovery was the only Shuttle planned to launch from SLC-6. However, it was found that turnaround time at Vandenberg was not fast enough to have STS-62B launch in 1986 so it likely would have launched in the first half of 1987.”
The above, slightly paraphrased, at/from:
www.spaceflighthistories.com/post/blue-shuttle
Credit: Aeryn Avilla/”SPACEFLIGHT HISTORIES” website
The above individual I believe gleaned much/most of her content from the following 1989 article written by Michael Cassutt. Click at your own risk, even though it looks (or is made to look?) like it’s no longer maintained, it’s a Godless Russian website nonetheless, so anything nefarious is possible/to be expected:
epizodsspace.narod.ru/bibl/spaceflight/31/mse.html
Multiple other sites are available regarding the MSE Program, although it’s mostly circular reporting.
Another view of the ‘more prevalent’ version of the emblem:
www.spacepatchdatabase.com/patches/space-shuttle/manned-s...
Credit: “Space Patch Database” website
Interesting:
www.losangeles.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Articl...
Credit: LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE website
Who knew???
Did you!?!
I didn't!!!
Go Atlas! Go Protoflight!
At 2:06 pm (ET) Friday, October 6, 2023, an AtlasV rocket sent two prototype satellites to space for Amazon's Project Kuiper, marking the start of the Protoflight mission.
Amazon plans to launch 3,236 satellites to increase internet access to underserved locations.
Seeing the Amazon logo on the payload fairing was odd, and I'm resisting the urge to make Amazon Prime Delivery jokes here.
I couldn't make it out for the launch itself, but I was able to drop some sound-activated cameras at the pad the day before launch, and they captured these images while I was 30 miles away doing day-job things. I thank Mike Howard and Graham Smith for retrieving my gear from the pad after what turned out to be a lovely launch.
The Future Of Air & Space Power. Speakers: Lt Gen S. Clinton Hinote, Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategy, Integration, and Requirements, Headquarters; Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno, Director of Staff, U.S. Space Force. Moderator: RAF ACDR Jez Attridge at the Gaylord Hotel in Maryland, September 21, 2022. Photo: Mike Tsukamoto Air & Space Forces Magazine
(Veterans Day is Thursday November 11, 2021). The newest US military mission - Space Force
www.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/FAQs/Whats-the-Space-Force/
Visit this location at 15th Annual SL Veteran's Tribute in Second Life
The Zentaur class have long operated as excellent utility ships for the German spaceforce, thanks to their modular hardpoints. This particular vessel operates a powerful scanner suite but is only armed with four small turbolasers housed in cylindrical towers on either side of the vessel's radomes and must rely on the large engine suites common the Zentaur class.
In the days when Venus was still thought to possibly be a warmer version of the Earth, instead of a crematorium, there were as many advocates of a manned landing there as there were in favor of a manned Mars expedition. Here, a Martin Co, artist gives his impression of the Venus expedition shoving off from the permanent manned moon base that everyone just knew would follow our first landings there.
Photo of art by Stanilla courtesy of the GLMMAM, Baltimore, MD.
Cadets with the class of 2020 graduate at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo., April 18, 2020. Nearly 1,000 cadets commissioned into both the U.S. Air and Space Forces. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. J.T. Armstrong)
The Future Of Air & Space Power. Speakers: Lt Gen S. Clinton Hinote, Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategy, Integration, and Requirements, Headquarters; Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno, Director of Staff, U.S. Space Force. Moderator: RAF ACDR Jez Attridge at the Gaylord Hotel in Maryland, September 21, 2022. Photo: Mike Tsukamoto Air & Space Forces Magazine
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL. – This afternoon, June 17, 2021, SpaceX launched the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) III-5 Mission. The previously flown Falcon 9 booster roared to life at 12:09 PM EDT from launch complex 40. The GPS III-5 was built by Lockheed Martin for both military and civilian uses was placed into orbit and shortly after launch, the first stage made a successful landing on the recovery ship “Just Read the Instructions”.
A new outfit i put together!
✨ BODY ✨
Maitreya ~ Lara 4.1
✨ HEAD ✨
Laq ~ sandy
✨ HAIR ✨
Sintiklia ~ Titania
✨ MAKEUP ✨
All From March Powder Pack 19 LAQ
✨ CLOTHES ✨
SISU\\ ~ HILDR HIP ARMOUR
:::SOLE:::
SA ~Headset ~ vostars
SA ~ Pauldron Koura
SA ~ SG Pad
SA ~ Throat Mic
SA ~ Wrap Belt
SA ~ Visor GLATT
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/INSILICO/31/179/522
[NeurolaB Inc.]
Heart Reactor MK-6
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Neurolab/61/139/26
R2
A/D/E ~ JYUNSYU OUTFIT FROM COLABBOR88 EVENT
K/E/N ~ HAGANE GLOVES
K/E/N ~ ELBOW GUARD
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/R2%20Fashion/80/87/1212
💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕
The view from Vero Beach of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch on 12-28-23 at 8:07 PM. The mission named USSF-52 (OTV-7) is a cooperative effort by the United States Space Force and the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, and is considered classified. The mission launched the Boeing X-37B Spaceplane on its fourth flight. Both boosters successfully landed back at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The core booster was not recovered. In this image you can see the trail of the two boosters as they peeled away from the main rocket path and then also as they fired their engines to reduce speed as they reentered the atmosphere. It is also possible to see their short burn prior to landing. This image is a stack of three long exposure images.
Tuesday night on the Space Coast of Florida: At 8:56pm (ET), United Launch Alliance (ULA) sent a classified payload to space atop the still fairly new Vulcan rocket.
It put on quite the show, seen here from Palm Shores over the Indian River Lagoon.
This is a 314-sec exposure, run until main engine cutoff.
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL. – This afternoon, June 17, 2021, SpaceX launched the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) III-5 Mission. The previously flown Falcon 9 booster roared to life at 12:09 PM EDT from launch complex 40. The GPS III-5 was built by Lockheed Martin for both military and civilian uses was placed into orbit and shortly after launch, the first stage made a successful landing on the recovery ship “Just Read the Instructions”.
Cadets with the class of 2020 graduate at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo., April 18, 2020. Nearly 1,000 cadets commissioned into both the U.S. Air and Space Forces. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. J.T. Armstrong)
The Future Of Air & Space Power. Speakers: Lt Gen S. Clinton Hinote, Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategy, Integration, and Requirements, Headquarters; Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno, Director of Staff, U.S. Space Force. Moderator: RAF ACDR Jez Attridge at the Gaylord Hotel in Maryland, September 21, 2022. Photo: Mike Tsukamoto Air & Space Forces Magazine
New iteration for Raven SSTO, Single Stage to Orbit. This isn't the heavy, Discovery. But the smaller one. For example, SpaceX's dragon capsule is 378 Cu Ft, Payload bay of Raven is 1078 Cu Ft. www.ioaircraft.com/hypersonic/raven.php
Iteration 10, almost clean sheet. U-TBCC propulsion, 6000F thermal resistance, 3D printed graphene airframe, Note the elimination of "blunt nose". Turn around time under 24 hours total from landing to ready for next flight. No external boosters.
Forward Thruster Bay, other then conventional orbital thrusters, also includes a reverse thruster which decelerates the aircraft pre re-entry into atmosphere from 16,500+ mph ground speed to apx 12,000 mph ground speed. Engines re-ignite once in atmosphere so it can fly to it's landing destination, ie not glide.
#ssto #singlestagetorobit #space #newspace #afrl #afwerx #usaf #darpa #onr #arl #boeing #lockheedmartin #raytheon #northropgrumman #aerojet #dynetics #esa #bae #afosr #hypersonics #hypersonic #scramjet #reactionengines #sabre #starship #falcon9 #dragoncapsule #innovation #graphene #hydrogen #spacex #ula #virginorbit #rocketlab #artemis #orion #sls #nasa #snc #sierranevadecorporation #dreamchaser #astra #sdo #sda #spaceforce #dod #icao #dassault #bombardier #gulfstream #cessna #bigalow
Cadets with the class of 2020 graduate at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo., April 18, 2020. Nearly 1,000 cadets commissioned into both the U.S. Air and Space Forces. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. J.T. Armstrong)
aurora, colorado
1976
aerial, buckley air force base
part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf
© the Nick DeWolf Foundation
Image-use requests are welcome via flickrmail or nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com
Cadets with the class of 2020 graduate at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo., April 18, 2020. Nearly 1,000 cadets commissioned into both the U.S. Air and Space Forces. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. J.T. Armstrong)
I love this picture since it gives a little sense of the scope of the people at the race, and even at that this is still just a fraction. (Also, as my friend put it, it shows "curves visible from orbit," haha!)
Long exposure of falcon 9 launch from Vandeberg AFB on Nov 23, 2021, seen from firefighter road near Lompoc, CA
Accelerating Space Acquisition. Speakers: Frank Calvelli, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration; Dr. Kelly Hammett, Director, Space Rapid Capabilities Office; Brig. Gen. Stephen J. Purdy, PEO Assured Access to Space; Brig. Gen. Steven P. Whitney, Military Deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration. Moderator: RAAF Air Cmdr. Johnny Haly
2022 Air, Space & Cyber Conference at the Gaylord Hotel in Maryland, September 20, 2022. Photo: Air & Space Forces Magazine
The Future Of Air & Space Power. Speakers: Lt Gen S. Clinton Hinote, Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategy, Integration, and Requirements, Headquarters; Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno, Director of Staff, U.S. Space Force. Moderator: RAF ACDR Jez Attridge at the Gaylord Hotel in Maryland, September 21, 2022. Photo: Mike Tsukamoto Air & Space Forces Magazine
An osprey (Pandion haliaetus) seen flying above Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on March 28th, 2024.
The U.S. SpaceForce's SBIRS GEO 6 missile warning satellite is mounted atop its ride to space, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, in preparation to launch for Space Systems Command. Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance
The U.S. SpaceForce's SBIRS GEO 6 missile warning satellite is mounted atop its ride to space, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, in preparation to launch for Space Systems Command. Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance
The U.S. SpaceForce's SBIRS GEO 6 missile warning satellite is mounted atop its ride to space, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, in preparation to launch for Space Systems Command. Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance
Accelerating Space Acquisition. Speakers: Frank Calvelli, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration; Dr. Kelly Hammett, Director, Space Rapid Capabilities Office; Brig. Gen. Stephen J. Purdy, PEO Assured Access to Space; Brig. Gen. Steven P. Whitney, Military Deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration. Moderator: RAAF Air Cmdr. Johnny Haly
2022 Air, Space & Cyber Conference at the Gaylord Hotel in Maryland, September 20, 2022. Photo: Air & Space Forces Magazine
The U.S. SpaceForce's SBIRS GEO 6 missile warning satellite is mounted atop its ride to space, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, in preparation to launch for Space Systems Command. Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance
The U.S. SpaceForce's SBIRS GEO 6 missile warning satellite is mounted atop its ride to space, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, in preparation to launch for Space Systems Command. Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance