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Author
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Topic: List of range safety officers (RSOs)
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Axman
Member Posts: 489
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023
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posted 06-29-2024 10:18 AM
   
Does anyone have a list, or can point me in the direction of one, for Range Safety Officers for both the Eastern and Western Test Ranges? I am especially interested in the 1960's and 70's. I believe during that period that the office was exclusively a USAF position and therefore would have been domiciled at Patrick Air Force Base and Vandenberg Air Force Base. |
Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1922
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 06-30-2024 09:49 AM
I don't believe they were Air Force only, civilians could be qualified. Also, the Air Force did not assume responsibility for Range Safety at Vandenberg until 1963 at the formation of AFWTR.There were hundreds of launches during that timeframe. Dozens of people would have rotated in and out of the safety office. There was not just one "Range Safety Officer," it was a rotational position. Logs were not kept for manning of range operational positions (RSO was just one of many SRO,SCO, ACO, WO, etc.). |
Axman
Member Posts: 489
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023
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posted 06-30-2024 11:11 AM
Well I hate to disagree with you yet again, but I believe both the Eastern and Western Test Ranges were USAF controlled throughout. I do not believe that civilians were qualified to be Range Safety Officers for those ranges.I also am of the understanding that there was an office entitled "Range Safety Officer" just as NASA had an office of Flight Director - whether the Air Force had a rotational system such as the NASA 'Red', 'White' and 'Blue' shifts I have no idea, but I'm pretty damned sure there weren't thousands of Range Safety Officers. And of course the Air Force didn't take control of the Western Test Range until it was established as the Western Test Range. |
Axman
Member Posts: 489
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023
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posted 06-30-2024 11:55 AM
And to add somewhat to the previous, from SP-4204: Range safety matters caused considerable disagreement between NASA and the Air Force before the issues were ultimately resolved. The Air Force had exercised responsibility for range safety at the Cape since launching the first rocket back in 1950. The basic concern was to prevent an errant rocket from landing in a populated area. Accordingly, when NASA scheduled a mission, the Air Force wanted details on the flight plan: launch azimuth, trajectory, and impact point. ...The range safety officer sat at a group of consoles located in the range control center of the Cape Kennedy Air Force Station." The Air Force's authority in matters of range safety was reaffirmed in the Webb-McNamara Agreement of 17 January 1963. Essentially, the agreement confirmed the authority of the Air Force to require flight termination and propellant dispersion systems on NASA vehicles as well as those of the military, and this authority extended from liftoff through orbital insertion. The agreement was supplemented by the Air Force Missile Test Center-Launch Operations Center agreement of 5 June 1963, which gave NASA the responsibility for ground safety within the confines of KSC but left flight safety with the Air Force. |
Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1922
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 06-30-2024 05:43 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Axman:
I do not believe that civilians were qualified to be Range Safety Officers for those ranges.
I know there were civil servant RSOs and serving in other positions on the ranges. The "officer" in RSO was a title and not the type of personnel serving in the role.There was not an "Office of RSO's". There were other safety related personnel in the office code. quote:
...whether the Air Force had a rotational system
Each position was manned as each office saw fit. There were no teams due to the nature of the military personnel rotations. This is also one of the reasons civilians occupied some positions occasionally. And why there are now civilian weather officers.And there were more than a couple hundred of them. quote:
And to add somewhat to the previous...
Don't see how this is relevant to the discussion. By the way, I have been employed at the Cape since 1988 as military officer, as a contractor and as civil servant. |
Axman
Member Posts: 489
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023
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posted 07-01-2024 03:43 AM
I am not sure we are talking about the same thing here. I shall rephrase my question:Is there a list of Range Safety Officers for the Air Force Eastern Test Range, and the Air Force Western Test Range in the 1960s and very early 1970s. Below is an example of one individual in the role I am seeking a list of; Range Control Centre CKAFS Fla. Signature. Maj. USAF R.S.O. GT-12 Range Safety Officer.  |
Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1922
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 07-01-2024 08:10 AM
There are no such lists as I said there were hundreds of people (if you include both coasts) in that role. It is not as unique as a NASA Flight Director. The Cape has hosted more than 8000 launches since 1950. With military tours having a typical length of 3-4 years, lets just say there were about 25 tour rotations over the year. There were maybe six to eight RSOs employed at a time (there were two per launch - RSO and Senior RSO). That would be 100 to 200 persons that had the role of RSO. No lists of Test/Launch Directors, Launch Controllers, Superintendent of Range Operations, Range Control Officers or any other positions in the Range Control Center or blockhouses/LCCs. |
Axman
Member Posts: 489
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023
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posted 07-01-2024 09:21 AM
I appreciate your reply. Thank you. However, we are still talking at cross-purposes. I am not asking for an official list - I have taken on board your assertion that an official list was never compiled.But, a bit like Mr Vukotich and his 'Monograph and Catalog', there was no official list of SpaceCraft Covers either until he took the trouble to compile one. The numbers are irrelevant; tens, hundreds or thousands, I am seeking help to either obtain or help to compile such a (non-existent official) list. Partial lists can help me. Individual names can help me compile partial lists. There were individuals who were Range Safety Officers (as the image above demonstrates) for both the Eastern and Western Test Ranges in the 1960s. Anybody with any information can email me what they know. Thank you. |
Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1922
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 07-01-2024 11:46 AM
I am a docent at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum and have spent a lot of time in the archives, which contains those of the museum's and the base historians'. I have also done research on early launches (Juno, Atlas, Thor, Titan, etc.) including flight test reports. Names of personnel manning launch positions either for the range or vehicle was not documented in any of these. Nor does it occur in the historian's monthly reports. Same goes for NASA Delta and Atlas Flight reports. There aren't even partial lists. Nobody cared to save to range position manning for the thousands of launches that have occurred. You might be able to find it for one or two launches here and there, but it won't cover all positions including RSO and it would be in a one off document (Like presentation for a launch with nuclear material or accident report and searching for other similar docs (NTRS and DTIC) yields nothing). Old Patrick AFB phone directories might provide some info. You would have to know the office symbol for the office with RSOs in it and look for the same symbol in the personnel listings. But this wouldn't always give the since being in the same office doesn't guarantee they are RSOs and the base directories were noted for being inaccurate. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 52674
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-01-2024 01:42 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Axman:
Anybody with any information...
The only resource that comes to mind, and it is by far a complete one, is to search for "range safety officer" and "obituary" (as well as perhaps "Apollo" or "Cape Canaveral," for example) and see what returns. I just did a quick search and found the following, there may be more: - Edward Fischel, range safety officer at Cape Canaveral during the Apollo space program
- Joseph F. Ingenloff, Range Safety Officer, Air Force Eastern Test Range
- Kenneth Kaisler, Air Force Range Safety Officer during the Mercury Program, Gemini Program, Apollo Program, and over half of the Space Shuttle Program
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Axman
Member Posts: 489
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023
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posted 07-01-2024 02:10 PM
Thank you, a very astute observation. I hadn't thought of an Internet search on obituaries.A very small list with references is beginning to form. And thank you to the couple of email responders who have sent private messages, greatly appreciated. |
Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1922
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 07-01-2024 02:42 PM
Kenneth Kaisler would be an example of civilian in the role since a military officer would not be at the same base for 20 years or more. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 52674
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-01-2024 02:58 PM
Maybe he retired from the Air Force at some point during his time as a range safety officer, but going solely by his obituary (I couldn't find any more information about him online), Kaisler was transferred to Patrick Air Force Base when he started his service for the Eastern Range. |
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