Airmen of Air Force Reserve Command’s 326th Airlift Squadron at Dover AFB, Del., flew their last C-5 flight on March 10. The 326th AS, part of the 512th Airlift Wing, is converting to the C-17 on April 1 and receives its first new airlifter in June. The squadron’s Reservists have flown and maintained the C-5 for 34 years. The C-5s are not leaving Dover, however, since one Reserve (709th AS) and one active (9th AS) squadron still will fly and maintain the mammoth airlifter.
NASA, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance are all preparing to launch their next-gen rockets from Florida’s Space Coast, two of them before the year is out. One is expected to liberate the U.S. launch enterprise from its reliance on Russian-made RD-180 engines, while all three rockets could eventually carry astronaut crews.