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ArticleCS

STC completes most rigorous capstone event yet featuring multi-domain assets

  • Published
  • By Jessica Peterson
  • 412th Test Wing
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  

The latest iteration of the Space Test Course, class 23-1, at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School recently completed their capstone exercise, the course’s most rigorous and comprehensive yet.

With a goal of producing adaptive, critical-thinking test professionals to conduct full-spectrum test and evaluation of space weapon systems, the STC at TPS continues to grow and add real-world rigor to the program.

“The capstone exposes space professionals to some of the capabilities within the air domain. Students learn and actually get to practice how to integrate space assets with airborne assets and fighter aircraft, including real-world weapons employment and simulation of search and rescue,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Corey Florendo, USAF TPS F-16 Instructor Pilot.

As DoD systems become more complex, graduates of both TPS and STC must understand capabilities from various domains (air, space, cyber, surface, subsurface) and how these capabilities integrate with each other. Florendo has taken the lead on exposing the STC students to the air domain and integration with space assets.

“Learning the capabilities inherent in aerial warfare is the first step in ensuring we have a tightly integrated force that cuts across all of the warfighting domains,” Florendo explained.

The STC capstone utilized commercially available imagery from the Planet Labs SkySat satellites in tandem with a TPS-operated F-16D and a Nellis AFB-based HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter. The STC class 23-1 students tested targeting, battle damage assessment, and personnel recovery scenarios using cross-domain capabilities. The complexity of the capstone event, requiring the team to time and geo-spatially align multiple overhead, airborne and ground-based assets, required the students to integrate the knowledge, skillset, and mindset they have developed over the past 4 months of the course.

The STC started as a 3-month fundamentals course in 2021 and is set to become a year-long degree-granting program by 2026. The partnership between the Air Force and Space Force was formalized in February 2023 when Space Force Gen. David Thompson, Vice Chief of Space Operations, and Air Force Gen. David Allvin, Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, a graduate TPS Class 93B, signed a Memorandum of Agreement between the two sister-services defining roles and responsibilities related to the STC (read the story here).

With the formalization of the STC, Space Force Maj. Stefanie Coward, the first full-time Guardian and STC graduate has joined the TPS staff bringing with her recent USSF test and operational experience.

“Operating in space has always been a challenge, between the rigors of launch and the austerity of the vacuum of space, but it had been mostly benign. That is not the case anymore,” Coward said. “Our adversaries are developing and fielding systems designed to challenge US Space Superiority, so we need to know how our systems can respond. STC aims to prepare testers who can test the limits of a system.”

Since the first STC beta class in 2021, the current STC class 23-1 program has grown to a 5-month course. By next year the program will encompass nearly a year with the STC students completing a 7-month graded course followed by a real-world test program for a customer. With the goal of being a degree-granting program, commensurate with the one-year Flight Test Course at TPS, staff from TPS and STC commercial partner ABSI Aerospace & Defense have continued to grow the course content.

Some notable additions in 2023 include the incorporation of the Generic Robotic On-Orbit Training (GROOT) simulator, development of the school’s small satellite laboratory, and refinement of a launch event to exercise modeling and simulation. Additionally, the STC class 23-1 students also saw a Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3) up close during a test campaign inside the Benefield Anechoic Facility on Edwards. The satellite is due to launch later this year and could be an asset that the STC students will be working with during future operations.

“No one wants a conflict, but we need to be prepared for warfare with a near-peer nation. A contest with an advanced adversary will require the full arsenal of the DoD, to include capabilities from various domains in air, space, cyber, surface, subsurface,” Florendo said. “Those multi-domain capabilities all have unique strengths, and just as importantly, unique challenges that professional test pilots and test engineers need to identify and alleviate before a conflict that requires those integrated capabilities. Testers need to ensure the DoD's capabilities are ready to go on night one.”

Note: Watch the Space Test Course Class 23-1 Graduation here.

Slide show

STC completes most rigorous capstone event yet featuring multi-domain assets

  • Published
  • By Jessica Peterson
  • 412th Test Wing
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  

The latest iteration of the Space Test Course, class 23-1, at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School recently completed their capstone exercise, the course’s most rigorous and comprehensive yet.

With a goal of producing adaptive, critical-thinking test professionals to conduct full-spectrum test and evaluation of space weapon systems, the STC at TPS continues to grow and add real-world rigor to the program.

“The capstone exposes space professionals to some of the capabilities within the air domain. Students learn and actually get to practice how to integrate space assets with airborne assets and fighter aircraft, including real-world weapons employment and simulation of search and rescue,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Corey Florendo, USAF TPS F-16 Instructor Pilot.

As DoD systems become more complex, graduates of both TPS and STC must understand capabilities from various domains (air, space, cyber, surface, subsurface) and how these capabilities integrate with each other. Florendo has taken the lead on exposing the STC students to the air domain and integration with space assets.

“Learning the capabilities inherent in aerial warfare is the first step in ensuring we have a tightly integrated force that cuts across all of the warfighting domains,” Florendo explained.

The STC capstone utilized commercially available imagery from the Planet Labs SkySat satellites in tandem with a TPS-operated F-16D and a Nellis AFB-based HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter. The STC class 23-1 students tested targeting, battle damage assessment, and personnel recovery scenarios using cross-domain capabilities. The complexity of the capstone event, requiring the team to time and geo-spatially align multiple overhead, airborne and ground-based assets, required the students to integrate the knowledge, skillset, and mindset they have developed over the past 4 months of the course.

The STC started as a 3-month fundamentals course in 2021 and is set to become a year-long degree-granting program by 2026. The partnership between the Air Force and Space Force was formalized in February 2023 when Space Force Gen. David Thompson, Vice Chief of Space Operations, and Air Force Gen. David Allvin, Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, a graduate TPS Class 93B, signed a Memorandum of Agreement between the two sister-services defining roles and responsibilities related to the STC (read the story here).

With the formalization of the STC, Space Force Maj. Stefanie Coward, the first full-time Guardian and STC graduate has joined the TPS staff bringing with her recent USSF test and operational experience.

“Operating in space has always been a challenge, between the rigors of launch and the austerity of the vacuum of space, but it had been mostly benign. That is not the case anymore,” Coward said. “Our adversaries are developing and fielding systems designed to challenge US Space Superiority, so we need to know how our systems can respond. STC aims to prepare testers who can test the limits of a system.”

Since the first STC beta class in 2021, the current STC class 23-1 program has grown to a 5-month course. By next year the program will encompass nearly a year with the STC students completing a 7-month graded course followed by a real-world test program for a customer. With the goal of being a degree-granting program, commensurate with the one-year Flight Test Course at TPS, staff from TPS and STC commercial partner ABSI Aerospace & Defense have continued to grow the course content.

Some notable additions in 2023 include the incorporation of the Generic Robotic On-Orbit Training (GROOT) simulator, development of the school’s small satellite laboratory, and refinement of a launch event to exercise modeling and simulation. Additionally, the STC class 23-1 students also saw a Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3) up close during a test campaign inside the Benefield Anechoic Facility on Edwards. The satellite is due to launch later this year and could be an asset that the STC students will be working with during future operations.

“No one wants a conflict, but we need to be prepared for warfare with a near-peer nation. A contest with an advanced adversary will require the full arsenal of the DoD, to include capabilities from various domains in air, space, cyber, surface, subsurface,” Florendo said. “Those multi-domain capabilities all have unique strengths, and just as importantly, unique challenges that professional test pilots and test engineers need to identify and alleviate before a conflict that requires those integrated capabilities. Testers need to ensure the DoD's capabilities are ready to go on night one.”

Note: Watch the Space Test Course Class 23-1 Graduation here.

Edwards provides care, opportunities for children aged six weeks through high school graduation

Edwards provides care, opportunities for childrenaged six weeks through high school graduation

The Child and Youth Program at Edwards AFB provides care and opportunities for kids ages six weeks old through high school graduation. A brief summary of those services follows:

  •                    The Child Development Center cares for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years, with a DOD-wide curriculum. The curriculum is focused on learning through play activities supporting social, emotional, physical and intellectual development. Installations across DOD follow the curriculum on the same timeline to allow seamless permanent change-of-station transitions for youth enrolled in care.
  •                    The School Age Center provides before and after-school care and summer camp for children ages 5 to 12. During school breaks, full-day camps are offered. SAC promotes cognitive, social, emotional, cultural, language and physical development through programs that encourage self-confidence, curiosity, self-discipline and resiliency.
  •                    The open recreation program at the Main Youth Center provides a safe space for ages 9 to 12 to attend after school. Programs include Power Hour, STEM, Torch Club, social recreation, youth camps, special events and more.
  •                    The youth sports program provides intro and league opportunities for ages 3 to 12, and promotes inclusiveness, self-discipline, commitment, resiliency and social skills. There are four sports offered annually for ages five to 12: baseball/softball, soccer, flag football and basketball. Smart start programs are available to ages 3 to 5. There are many other sports and camps offered throughout the year.
  •                    The Teen Center is available for ages 13 to 18 during the school year. Programs offered include Military Youth of the Year, Keystone Club, social recreation, STEM activities, college trips, leadership camps and more.
  •                    Youth programs (SAC, open rec and teen) are affiliated with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and 4-H.
  •                    Family Child Care homes – there are currently three FCC homes on the installation. They can provide care for ages two weeks to 12 years. FCC providers are trained by Child and Youth Program training and curriculum specialists and have the flexibility to determine their hours of operation and the ages of youth within their care. The program’s new dedicated manager, Jennifer Stegmann, may be reached at 661-275-7529.

Although CDC enrollment capacity is 317, not all slots are currently filled because of a shortage of childcare workers. School Age Center enrollment capacity is 156. After-school care enrollment is 130. Before-school care enrollment is 75. Summer Camp 2022 was at its capacity and enrollment for Summer Camp 2023 opens April 3.