Writing for Australian Air Power Today provides valuable opportunities to encounter some of the space industries heavy duty and experienced players.
I recently interviewed Colonel Ram Riojas (Retired). A United States Air Force (USAF) Colonel who was one of the main drivers in the United States Air Force Space Program and Space Operations.
Colonel Riojas has served in every role from Launch Controller, Launch Director, Assistant Mission Director, Mission Planner, Director of Operations and Squadron Commander for the United States Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
He has been involved in the launch of dozens of successful missions over a 20-year span from the US West and East Coasts, from small to medium and heavy rockets including Pegasus air launch, Taurus, Minotaur, Atlas IIAS, Titan II, Titan IVB, Atlas V, Delta IV medium and heavy, as well as helped stand-up Falcon 9 operations on the West Coast.
In this interview we will get a first-hand and behind the scenes look into space launch operations – something I am also deeply passionate about.
Colonel Riojas says he was always interested in the military, watching war movies and fascinated about what was happening in space, citing many science fiction movies of the late 70s and early 80s as a driving force of excitement. By the time he was a child, a lot of the Saturn Missions were winding down but there was still a lot of interest around that.
Signing up for college, Colonel Riojas decided to major in aerospace engineering and found this to be an interesting career field. As he was going down that path a curiosity for the Air Force developed. As all space operations were part of the Air Force, as in many countries including Australia, up until recently when the United States Government set up their Space Force.
At the time, Colonel Riojas was focused on aviation and aircraft design and enrolled in the Reserve Officer Training Corp program. This was a program US colleges offer each branch of the armed services and you initially start as a cadet. That’s how his involvement began in the Air Force and depending on the need of the service when you graduated was the career path you end up following.
When the Iraq war ended there was not much call for aircrew and pilots so the Air Force started a new branch managing space operations. Until then, space mainly had engineering but this wasn’t at the military end. The Air Force began focusing on this in the early and mid 90s and set up specific training to address this shortfall.
Colonel Riojas’ was first deployed to Greenland, where he took on the role of crew commander of an early warning missile operation. While he was studying radar and missile warning theory he got the opportunity to watch his first space launch and this became his career highlight, starting everything for him.
The mission was a Titan 4 heavy launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in December ‘95. At the time there was no united launch alliance (ULA). Boeing and Lockheed Martin were the initial big players before this merged.
Space demand went down in the US until SpaceX entered the picture. When Colonel Riojas came back from Greenland, he got into Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM), Minuteman 3 and nuclear underground missile launch ops.
His role was to sit and wait on alerts providing a nuclear deterrent. Colonel Riojas did this role for three years before finally getting into space operations. He then became Launch Controller at Vandenberg Air Force Base and started launching Atlas 2 rockets, Titan 2 rockets, Titan 4 rockets and recalls it being the best job he could have imagined.
On the launch pad all day long, working on the process of how to put together a launch campaign, it was very fascinating, interesting and rewarding work. A lot of effort and attention to detail required living on the base. After that first time he was hooked.
When September 9/11 happened, he was thrust into an accelerated Titan 4 launch three months out.
“We had to launch it in three weeks because 9/11 had happened. We worked around the clock and within 24hrs got it launched.”
“What was fascinating is every satellite years down the road played a key role in finding Osama Bin Laden. Most of the satellites launched were for intelligence and reconnaissance purposes.”
Later, Colonel Riojas became involved in special operations and intelligence. This was his first exposure working with coalition partners, including Australia where he made good friends in multiple career fields. Prior to retirement, he was working with Australian troops in space operations, went back to California and recalls Australians there.
“It was a great addition to the team and they bought a lot of perspective. One of the Australian team mates literally drove a lot of the strategy for the new US Space Command.”
Getting into launch, the general public see this, which is literally the final part of the process in creating that launch – it’s become an art.
He literally had a thousand people involved for each mission. The rocket itself is a two year process to build. The satellite can take between four to six years to build. You have mission planners, engineers and acquisition professionals following sub systems, different components of the satellite and different components of the rocket as they are manufacturing them.
As it gets closer to the launch, and about two years out, the launch range is scheduled in – Vandenberg or Cape Canaveral. The type of configuration and other factors make this a long process.
About three months before the launch, would probably be the minimum timeframe when the satellite and rocket arrive at the launchpad. Then the job becomes integration, putting all the pieces together, doing the processing and running a series of tests.
The first thing would be the booster run. In the first stage they put it on the launchpad and run a few tests. If it passes, they go to second stage, run a few fuelling tests than identify launch crews. Once the crew is identified, they will train together through three or four launch rehearsals.
Every launch is unique and has its specific criteria and requirements. Identifying any problems, understanding and then making a risk assessment for a launch or a scrub. Those calculations are based on a test and evaluation master plan. This is a big document with every parameter and range of acceptable criteria factored in. Assessments are then made including public safety. Every launch is dangerous within itself, and risk management is most important.
The responsibility of the launch director is to preserve the rocket and satellite. If there is enough evidence a launch shouldn’t occur, the sooner it is scrubbed the better as far as safety is concerned. When everything aligns it can be a thing of beauty.
John Moody
