The 30th Civil Engineer Squadron finished a runway hardware retrofit construction detail at the base’s flightline May 8 to accommodate the eventual landing of the Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle here.
“The experimental nature of the X-37B necessitated the urgency of the modifications in case of an unscheduled landing,” said Lt. Col. Troy Giese, the Air Force’s X-37B Systems Program Director.
Approximately 80 people from the 30th CES, 30th Launch Group, 581st Missile Maintenance Squadron, 30th Operations Support Squadron’s airfield operations flight and Vandenberg’s Training Device Design and Engineering Center replaced 658 plates along the flightline’s centerline to increase the levelness of the airstrip.
more…