45th Weather Squadron (45 WS), 45th Operations Group (45 OG),

Space Launch Delta 45 The Space Launch Delta 45 (SLD 45) is a unit of the United States Space Force. The Space Launch Delta 45 is assigned to Space Systems Command and headquartered at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida. The wing also controls Cape Canaveral Space Fo ...

, at

Patrick Space Force Base Patrick Space Force Base is a United States Space Force installation located between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is named in honor of Major General Mason Patrick, United States Army Air Corps, ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

performs weather assessments for air and space operations; specifically, weather observations, forecasts, advisories, and warnings. It specialized in the weather assessments for the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

launches at

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...

(KSC) and

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida. Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the sta ...

.USAF Wx Agency: ''The Observer'', Vol. 51-4
/ref> The 45 WS provides comprehensive weather data and specialized services for Space Force and NASA personnel, such as for flight safety, resource protection (i.e. ground building and equipment), pre-launch ground processing, day-of-launch for Shuttle and other rockets, post-launch, aviation, and special operations. These services are provided for more than 30 to 40 space launch countdowns per year for the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

(DOD), NASA, USAF, and commercial launch customers.

Mission

The 45th Weather Squadron (Motto: "Exploit the Weather to Assure Access to Air and Space") at

monitors weather around

Cape Canaveral, Florida Cape Canaveral is a city in Brevard County, Florida. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne– Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,912 at the 2020 US census. History After the establishment of a lighthouse in 184 ...

, the location of the United States's busiest spaceports. The squadron decides if launches are allowed using strict guidelines; there are ten lightning-related rules, any one of which prohibits a launch. If a wind-related rule is exceeded, the squadron may recommend a delay to the launch customer.

History

Rocket launch A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

es can trigger

lightning strike A lightning strike or lightning bolt is a lightning event in which an electric discharge takes place between the atmosphere and the ground. Most originate in a cumulonimbus cloud and terminate on the ground, called cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning ...

s during flight;

Apollo 12 Apollo 12 (November 14–24, 1969) was the sixth crewed flight in the United States Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. It was launched on November 14, 1969, by NASA from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Commander Charles ...

was hit by lightning twice during ascent. After an Atlas-Centaur rocket was hit by lightning in 1987 and destroyed by

range safety In rocketry, range safety or flight safety is ensured by monitoring the flight paths of missiles and launch vehicles, and enforcing strict guidelines for rocket construction and ground-based operations. Various measures are implemented to protect ...

, NASA and the Air Force formed an advisory panel with weather experts to develop guidelines for acceptable conditions. The 45th Weather Squadron uses the guidelines to permit rocket launches. Detachment 11 of the

2nd Weather Squadron The 2nd Weather Squadron (2 WS) is an active United States Air Force unit assigned to the 2nd Weather Group of the 557th Weather Wing and is headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. The squadron's mission is broad and includes the pre ...

became the 45th Weather Squadron under the 45th Operations Group when the 45th Space Wing was activated in November 1991. Under either designation, the unit monitored the collection and analysis of all weather data pertinent to Patrick SFB, Cape Canaveral SFS, and Kennedy Space Center operations. The meteorologist provided briefings and forecasts, updated planning and program documents, and evaluated new weather instrumentation for possible use on the Eastern Range. In December 2005, 45 WS had 7 officers, 18 enlisted people and 9 civilians.

Patch

The 45th Weather Squadron patch was designed in 1993 by

Technical Sergeant Technical sergeant is the name of three current and two former enlisted ranks in the United States Armed Forces, as well as in the U.S. Civil Air Patrol. Outside the United States, it is used only by the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, and ...

Dave Rose and Senior Airman Tony Correa. The patch is composed of elements which depict the historical past of the 45th Weather Squadron. Two launch vehicles are shown rising above the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

. One into a field of

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

(representing day) and the other into a field of

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

(representing night). This symbolizes the 45th WS’s ongoing mission which operates 24/7/365. The

is depicted as a blue disk bearing

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

and

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...

lines. This is a reference to the days when

Air Weather Service An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

was a part of

Military Airlift Command The Military Airlift Command (MAC) is an inactive United States Air Force major command (MAJCOM) that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Established on 1 January 1966, MAC was the primary strategic airlift organization of ...

(MAC) and that same blue disk was featured on the MAC patch. The 4 stars in the blue field are a tribute to the 45th WS’s former affiliation with the 4th Weather Wing. The single star in the black field represents all the weather personnel who have died in the line of duty and are never forgotten. The fleur de les and

anemometer In meteorology, an anemometer () is a device that measures wind speed and direction. It is a common instrument used in weather stations. The earliest known description of an anemometer was by Italian architect and author Leon Battista Alberti ...

cups are a reference to when Air Weather Service was a part of the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Shuttle support

45 WS provided weather data to

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

's Lightning

Launch Commit Criteria Launch commit criteria are the criteria which must be met in order for the countdown and launch of a Space Shuttle or other launch vehicle to continue. These criteria relate to safety issues and the general success of the launch, as opposed to ''s ...

for Shuttle countdown procedures. For Shuttle landing criteria and site selection determination, the Shuttle’s in-flight weather support, including landing forecasts, was provided by the National Weather Service’s Spaceflight Meteorology Group (SMG) at

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight in Houston, Texas (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight controller, flight control are conducted. ...

(JSC), Texas, in joint with the 45th Weather Squadron. The 45th’s area of operation encompasses over of air, land, and sea that make up NASA's and the USAF's east coast flight range. The 45 WS provided data and decision criteria when a Shuttle was ferried back to KSC from

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...

, California. This is where the Orbiter was mated on top of a modified

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...

, known as the

Shuttle Carrier Aircraft The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) are two extensively modified Boeing 747 airliners that NASA used to transport Space Shuttle orbiters. One (N905NA) is a 747-100 model, while the other (N911NA) is a short-range 747-100SR. Both are now retired. ...

, for the return flight to KSC. Edwards AFB desert landing runway was the primary backup site for returning Orbiters when the weather is severe at KSC.

Lightning research

Lightning at Kennedy Space Center is a major hazard for space flight. 45WS hopes to implement plan with a specific guideline for determining how long a lightning warning should be maintained after a particular discharge is observed prior to any space launches. The plan will include a joint research project with

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

and will be using KSC's Lightning Detection and Ranging (LDAR) network. The LDAR data collection will permit the study of intracloud and cloud-to-ground discharges within isolated thunderstorms over the KSC. :''Further reading: NASA''

Awards

* Outstanding Specialized Weather Unit - Moorman Award - 1999 * Outstanding Specialized Weather Support Unit - 2008

References

GlobalSecurity.org: ''45th WS''

External links

Air Force Weather Agency

USAF

Patrick AFB Home Page

45th Weather Squadron
includes access to latest launch weather forecast. {{Air Force Weather nav Squadrons of the United States Space Force Military weather units and formations