More 
than 80 percent of the approximately 163,000 airmen and Air Force civilians who participated in the 2012 Air Force Climate Survey said they were satisfied with their jobs, announced Air Force Personnel Center officials on Tuesday. Further, 95 percent believed their unit was successfully accomplishing its mission, they said. “Overall satisfaction numbers are similar to [the 2010 survey], which is good news,” said Nicole Gamez of AFPC’s manpower directorate in the center’s Feb. 19 release. “On the down side, our airmen indicate they’re working hard, but resources continue to be an issue,” she said. In addition to resource issues, recognition continues to be one of the lowest rated areas across the force, said Gamez. The Air Force conducted the biennial online survey last May and June. “This survey is one of the most valuable tools we have as leaders. Airmen cannot focus on mission-critical tasks in an unhealthy environment, so we use survey results to identify areas that need attention,” said Air Force Secretary Michael Donley. “Thanks to the many airmen who took the time to communicate with us on these issues.” (Randolph report by Debbie Gildea) (See also Survey Says Airmen Satisfied with Jobs.)
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.