Air Force commander predicts big year – and beyond – for Space Coast launches

Emre Kelly
Florida Today
Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, commander of the 45th Space Wing and director of the Eastern Range, speaks during a luncheon at Cape Canaveral on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018.

The Space Coast will live up to its moniker this year and beyond as advances spearheaded by the Air Force and space industry boost launch-related activities, the 45th Space Wing's commander said during a Tuesday luncheon in Cape Canaveral.

"I can't imagine, short of the time back in the 60s and 70s, when there was a better time to be in this business," Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith said during a packed National Space Club Florida Committee luncheon at the Radisson Resort at the Port. "And we get to do it on the Space Coast."

He said the area could see up to 35 launches this year, a healthy increase over last year's 19, though a few will be submarine-launched Trident missiles, which are classified missions. Delays due to weather and hardware issues, though, usually deflate the projected number.

"One quarter of all the launches in the world come from the Eastern Range," Monteith, who is also director of the Eastern Range, said. "That's pretty darn remarkable considering we are in the lightning capital of America."

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The Range is comprised of both Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

His Wing has embarked on the "Drive to 48," or a target of supporting up to 48 launches a year, which translates to one a week on average. That could unfold between 2020 and 2023 as Blue Origin starts flying alongside SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, Orbital ATK, NASA and possibly others.

The goal to hit 48 launches includes two two-week maintenance periods each year for major projects and upgrades.

"We're going to do this with no additional money and no additional people," he said, citing efficiency improvements. "In the last 12 years, the number of folks we have on the range has been reduced by about one-third and our instrumentation by about one-half, but our launch rate has gone up about 300 percent."

But it's not just launches that will light up Space Coast skies – landings will continue to play a big role, too.

"Landing rockets is getting to be commonplace for us," Monteith said, alluding to SpaceX's Falcon 9, which vertically lands at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Landing Zone 1. And a first-ever horizontal landing of the Air Force's secretive X-37B mini-shuttle at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility last May paints a picture of wider operations – the entire program, from processing to launch to landing, is based at the Eastern Range.

Monteith also spoke on other highlights, including last year's base evacuations due to Hurricane Irma; improvements to infrastructure at the Cape to support new rockets such as NASA's Space Launch System and companies like Blue Origin; and advancements in technology, such as mobile telemetry units, to reduce costs and time between launches, to name a few.

The National Space Club Florida Committee luncheon also recognized Capt. Jareth D. Lamb, the acquisitions flight commander for the 45th Launch Support Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, with the 2018 Forrest S. McCartney National Defense Space Award. Capt. Lamb was awarded for leading a launch site certification team and improving launch facilities.

The award is named after Forrest McCartney, a former Kennedy Space Center director and retired Air Force lieutenant general.

Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook at @EmreKelly.