Shuttle exercise clears Edwards for landing Published July 31, 2008 By Airman 1st Class William O'Brien 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In preparation for the possibility of the arrival of an orbiter, Team Edwards and NASA Dryden Research Center performed a shuttle landing exercise July 26. Human Space Flight requires the base to conduct two exercises a year to ensure its capabilities to support landings still meet NASA's standards. "We need to stay up to date on how we would react in case of an emergency landing," said Brig. Gen. Jim Hogue, mobilization assistant to the commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center and director of the Edwards Space Shuttle Contingency Recovery Team. "When space shuttles need to land here, we have to be sure we know exactly what to do." Approximately 100 Team Edwards and NASA personnel participated in the exercise. "Team Edwards has a need to keep our space shuttle recovery skills current," said Col. Larry Edge, 95th Mission Support Group augmentee. "We've been planning this for at least three months, and it was great to see it culminate with such great execution from everyone involved." The exercise scenario was a space shuttle landing on one of Edwards' short runways, causing a fire in one of the orbiter's wheel wells. The simulated occurrence was listed as a Mode VI, which is an aided egress and requires aided escape. The exercise was executed with support from various base organizations, including the 95th Security Forces Squadron, 95th Civil Engineer and Transportation Directorate, the 412th Operational Support Squadron, 95th Medical Group and the 95th Communications Squadron. During the exercise, the 412th OSS cleared the runway for the shuttle. They also managed the airfield and air traffic control. The fire department provided first response and fire and rescue support as needed. Security forces provided entry control to ensure safety and security and to deter any unauthorized personnel. The medical response team was comprised of medics from the flight surgeons office and the 95th Medical Operations Squadron. The 95th Aerospace Medical Squadron provided bioenvironmental engineers to ensure no chemicals or gases leaked from the space shuttle. Airmen from March Air Reserve Base, Calif., also participated in the exercise, as well as, personnel from the Naval Medical Center in San Diego and Fort Irwin, Calif. Other organizations involved included the 95th Air Base Wing Command Post, AFFTC Flight Safety and the Civil Air Patrol. "All aspects of the response team did wonderfully," Colonel Edge said. "Everyone performed with flawless execution and the job got done faster than expected." Fifty-one orbiters have landed at Edwards already, with the last one being the space shuttle Atlantis on June 22, 2007. "The exercise today helps us with our disaster preparedness effort," General Hogue said. "It gives us reassurance of how well we could perform if a disastrous shuttle landing happened."