Aircrew delivers U.S.-French satellite for NASA

A U.S. Air Force C-5C Super Galaxy taxis on the flight line at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, Oct. 16, 2022. An aircrew with the 22nd Airlift Squadron, Travis Air Force Base, California, transported an international satellite as part of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Alexander Merchak)

Aircrew delivers U.S.-French satellite for NASA

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jarred D’Amico, 22nd Airlift Squadron loadmaster, prepares the cargo hold on a C-5C Super Galaxy at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, Oct. 16, 2022. Loadmasters with the 22nd AS assisted in the offload of space equipment for an international satellite as part of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Alexander Merchak)

Aircrew delivers U.S.-French satellite for NASA

Members of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center, 22nd Airlift Squadron Airmen and 30th Logistics Readiness Squadron Airmen offload space equipment from a C-5C Super Galaxy onto to a 60K-Loader at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, Oct. 16, 2022. The offload was in support of the international satellite as part of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission to survey nearly all water on Earth’s surface. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Alexander Merchak)

Aircrew delivers U.S.-French satellite for NASA

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Adrian Diaz, right, 22nd Airlift Squadron loadmaster, marshals a NASA truck out of a C-5C Super Galaxy during an offloading of space equipment at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, Oct. 16, 2022. The offload was in support of the international satellite as part of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission to survey nearly all water on Earth’s surface. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Alexander Merchak)

Aircrew delivers U.S.-French satellite for NASA

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Dawson Moore, left, Staff Sgt. Adrian Diaz, center, and Staff Sgt. Jarred D’Amico, 22nd Airlift Squadron loadmasters, move a cargo winch on a C-5C Super Galaxy during an offloading of space equipment at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, Oct. 17, 2022. The offload was in support of the international satellite as part of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission to survey nearly all water on Earth’s surface. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Alexander Merchak)

Aircrew delivers U.S.-French satellite for NASA

Members with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center, 22nd Airlift Squadron Airmen and 30th Logistics Readiness Squadron Airmen offload the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite from a C-5C Super Galaxy onto the flight line at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, Oct. 17, 2022. The 22nd AS transported and offloaded the SWOT satellite as part of an international joint mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Alexander Merchak)

Aircrew delivers U.S.-French satellite for NASA

A C-5C Super Galaxy awaits cargo loading before a flight at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, Oct. 17, 2022. The C-5C has space container modified doors that allow for oversized loads such as the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite that the 22nd Airlift Squadron transported in support of the joint SWOT mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Alexander Merchak)

Aircrew delivers U.S.-French satellite for NASA

U.S. Air Force Capt. Justin Wilson, 22nd Airlift Squadron C-5C Super Galaxy evaluator pilot and aircraft commander, smiles during a flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base to Travis Air Force Base, California, Oct. 17, 2022. The 22nd AS transported the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite from Nice, France, to Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, in support of the SWOT mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Alexander Merchak)

Aircrew delivers U.S.-French satellite for NASA

Published Dec. 12, 2022
By Senior Airman Alexander Merchak
60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Airmen with the 22nd Airlift Squadron assigned to Travis Air Force Base, California, transported a Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite from Nice Cote d’Azur Airport, Nice, France, to Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, in support of a multinational mission, Oct. 13 - 17, 2022. The international mission led by NASA and the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES), will be the first to survey nearly all water on Earth’s surface.

The 22nd AS put to use the only C-5C Super Galaxy in the Air Force capable of this mission. This is the sole aircraft able to support the mission due to its enhanced cargo capabilities, according to U.S. Air Force Capt. Justin Wilson, 22nd AS C-5 evaluator pilot and aircraft commander.

“In just under seven weeks, with coordination between NASA and Centre National D’Etudes Spatiales, we were able to develop a plan to safely transport the satellite from France where it was undergoing final assembly and testing to its launch site,” said Wilson. “The timeline for us to depart Travis, arrive in France, onload the SWOT satellite, transport it to Vandenberg, offload and begin movement of the satellite to the pre-launch preparation facility was 88 hours.”

The modified C-5C carried a total of 138,600 pounds of cargo.

While there are two C-5Cs with this modification, this is the only one operational as the other C-5C is currently getting a major maintenance and avionics upgrade, according to Wilson.

International partners from four countries have joined forces to develop SWOT which will be able to provide comprehensive high-definition views of freshwater bodies from space, observe fine details of the ocean’s surface topography and measure how bodies of water change over time.

The satellite is scheduled for launch December 15, 2022, at Vandenberg Space Force Base. For more updates, visit https://swot.jpl.nasa.gov