Reserve Citizen Airmen support SpaceX resupply rocket launch

  • Published
  • By Technical Sergeant Kelly Goonan
  • 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Reserve Citizen Airmen from the 301st Rescue Squadron supported the successful launch of a Spacex Falcon 9 rocket Friday, June 29. The launch of the Falcon 9 marked its fifteenth Commercial Resupply Services mission lifting off at 5:42:42 a.m. EDT, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

This unmanned mission brought supplies and instruments as well as a floating robotic head called CIMON, which stands for Crew Interactive Mobile Companion.

“This was the first launch I’ve participated in,” said Lt. Josh Civelli, 301st RQS pilot. “Everything went smoothly and I feel very confident in our abilities to do these launches, effectively and safely.”

Reserve Citizen Airmen from the 920th Rescue Wing serve to clear and secure the Eastern Range by overflight in Air Force HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters during a majority of Space Coast rocket launches.

CIMON, a project from German Aerospace Center, Airbus, and IBM, will act as a flying camera and uses fans and maneuvering fins to move around the station to monitor experiments and repairs. Additionally, CIMON has the ability to chat with the crew using IBM’s Watson AI.

The Dragon spacecraft separated from Falcon 9’s second stage about nine minutes and thirty seconds after liftoff and arrived at the International Space Station July 2.

The Dragon will return to Earth with more than 4,000 pounds of cargo after a one-month stay at the ISS.