As we celebrate Air Force Space Command’s 30th Anniversary we recognize individuals who played a significant role in the history of the Air Force space and missile programs – our Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers …
Col. (Dr.) Francis X. Kane (born December 12, 1918) became the fiftieth inductee into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame for his lifetime contributions to the Air Force Space Program. Colonel Kane was a pioneer in the development of a wide range of space programs and systems. As the Air Force Systems Command chief for space and ballistic missile planning under Gen. Bernard Schriever, Colonel Kane was a principal leader in Project Forecast, the highly classified study during 1963-64 that contemplated USAF air, missile and space requirements for the strategic environment of 1975. Hypersonic flight was one of the many future-changing concepts that came from that effort. As program manager for the nascent Air Force navigation satellite pro
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