621st CRW on-call to provide space shuttle support Published March 12, 2009 By 1st Lt. Dustin Doyle 621st Contingency Response Wing Public Affairs MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. -- Despite a separation of over 1,000 miles, teams from the 621st Contingency Response Wing here are ready to launch at a moment's notice in support of the Space Shuttle Discovery mission scheduled for this month. While NASA has scratched previously scheduled launches of this particular shuttle, which will deliver the International Space Station's fourth and final set of solar array wings, the 621st teams will remain on alert until after a successful launch. Designed to provide a quick response mobility force, the 621st CRW's shuttle support mission will only be executed in the event of a post launch emergency that forces the shuttle to land at an alternate location. CRW Airmen will sit on-call during the schedule launch to facilitate the response in case the shuttle mission is aborted. "It is always better to prepare and plan for the unexpected," said Lt. Col. Carmella Lawson, director of operations for the CRW's 819th Global Support Squadron and current team chief for the shuttle support mission. "However, this is one case where we hope all our preparations are unnecessary. In an ideal scenario, our mission will require us to do nothing more than cheer when the launch is a success. But if the shuttle mission experiences any launch anomalies requiring them to abort their mission, our people have the skills and experience to help facilitate a redeployment or turnaround of the mission." In a typical landing scenario, the space shuttle will have a scheduled landing back at the NASA Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, or at Edwards AFB, Calif. However, if the mission is aborted post-launch and the shuttle is unable to land at either of these locations, NASA has alternate landing sites designated around the globe. Because these sites do not have the resources that are available at Kennedy or Edwards AFB, the CRW shuttle support mission will facilitate the movement of people and equipment needed to load the shuttle for its return flight to Florida from an alternate sites. "Teams from the Contingency Response Wing have sat on alert for shuttle support missions since we stood up in 2005," said Master Sgt. Philip Leonard, non-commissioned officer-in-charge of the 621st CRW's operations directorate. "It's fortunate that we haven't been needed yet, but there's no doubt in my mind that we're the right people to execute this mission if necessary."