Tiger by the Tail

Country music legend Buck Owens had a smash hit in 1964 with the song “I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail.” That track always sprung to mind when I would see one of the United States Air Force’s most striking aircraft, the KC-135R Stratotanker designated 60-0366, clad in its bright tiger livery.

One of the most distinctive sights in the United States Air Force inventory.

It was just four years before Owens topped the music charts when this Stratotanker first flew, freshly constructed by Boeing Military Airplanes in 1960

Nearly  three decades ago, 60-0366 was assigned to aerial refueling duty with the 108^th Wing at McGuire Air Force base, now a key component of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Over the years since, one thing remained consistent: home base for this 135 was always New Jersey. Until last week.

A strategic decision has been made which sees the remaining KC-135 workhorse tankers that had been based at McGuire now reassigned to other facilities. But seeing these aircraft go is far more than just a reallocation of military resources. Air crews and maintainers have bonded with these legendary planes, and their departure demanded a ceremony in recognition of their service.

That gathering took place last week in a hangar at McGuire. And just outside, the final KC-135R stood ready to depart for a new home in Maine.

The 108^th Wing’s Fabrication Section rose to the occasion when it came to giving 60-0366 a bold new look.

This particular 135 – tail number 00366 – is one of the most distinctive of USAF aircraft, with its bright orange-and-black tiger livery honoring early aviator Captain Hobey Baker’s Princeton University heritage. Baker, a test pilot in the years immediately following his distinguished service in the first world war, was killed in a crash in 1918. Princeton’s association with tiger graphics carried over onto this KC-135 in Baker’s memory.

Credit where credit is due...

The guests assembled for the ceremony ranged from those on hand to welcome 00366 when it first arrived at McGuire to those who have most recently flown and maintained this aircraft. The walls of the hangar were adorned with memorabilia and artefacts heralding the 108^th Wing and its colorful association with the mascot of Hobey Baker's alma mater.

Flight crews, maintainers, and all associated with 60-0366 were happy to add their names to the roster of those saying farewell.

Following the traditional Presentation of Colors, National Anthem, and invocation, Senior Master Sergeant Donald Woods touched on many of the facts that make up tail 60-0366’s incredible history. This KC-135 was the 408^th Stratotanker to be built, and had flown in service to the USAF for more than four decades before it arrived at McGuire and was placed into the care of the 108^th Wing in October 2007. Involved in numerous global operations since that time, this aircraft has logged over 4500 flight hours.

Woods offered a fitting summary of the KC-135’s career: “To this aircraft I say, job well done!”

Brigadier General Patrick Kenndey – who served as commander of the New Jersey Air National Guard – then took the stage to introduce the final flight crew and maintainers for this auspicious occasion, followed by an additional appreciation for this aircraft and those who have served and do serve in the 108^th Wing.

The final flight team of crew members and maintainers proudly stand ready to power up 60-0366 for the aircraft’s final takeoff from McGuire.

Major General (Ret.) James McIntosh was then introduced as keynote speaker, reflecting on his time as commander at McGuire Air Force Base – a position that only came after more than 100 combat missions as KC-135 navigator during the Vietnam conflict and more than 6,400 flying hours total.

“I was privileged to be a crew member of the crew that brought the first KC-135 into McGuire,” McIntosh noted of the Stratotanker’s debut New Jersey arrival 32 years ago. “It’s my honor to be here today as we say goodbye to this airplane.”

Major General (Ret.) James McIntosh – former commander at McGuire Air Force Base - reflects on the KC-135’s long record of service flying from this facility.

Following a video commemorating the 108^th Wing and the KC-135, members of the 108^th Fabrication Section unveiled a stunning replica of KC-135R 60-0366 that will ensure memories are permanently reflected through this work of art.

The 108^th Wing Fabrication Section said farewell to 60-0366 in their own way, ensuring this aircraft will never be forgotten.

With the indoor ceremony complete, the hundreds of people on hand emerged into bright sunshine and the sound of 00366, fired up and ready to begin its final flight from McGuire. Forming a long, orderly line to the right of the KC-135, the witnesses to this occasion offered final salutes as the huge aircraft began to taxi toward its takeoff. Once airborne, the majestic Stratotanker circled the base and made a final pass at low altitude in farewell.

The 108^th Wing will now begin a transition to the newer Boeing KC-46 Pegasus tanker, even as talk heats up in the aerospace realm over concepts like autonomous aerial refueling. But those are visions for the future; for now, it’s entirely appropriate to focus on all those years of a job well done thanks to the enduring KC-135.

The KC-135R passes by hundreds of personnel offering up their final salutes to the aircraft.

On a last pass down the runways at McGuire, 60-0366 prepares for takeoff.

Wheels up as KC-135R 60-0366 powers into the skies above Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst for a final time.

All photos: Frank Moriarty/Aerospace Perceptions

Click on photos to see larger images.

Taking Out the Trash

Where man goes, waste follows. Call it garbage, trash, refuse, litter, rubbish – or even space junk.

Space junk usually becomes a hot topic only when there is some large object that finally must yield to gravity with its final landing spot largely unknown. Although the likelihood of a water impact is greatest, anxious eyes turn to the skies just in case.

National Geographic illustrated the clear and present danger of space debris with this ESA image in a feature article published in 2019. Image: European Space Agency

In reality, though, such high-profile encounters between worn-out satellites and our home planet are merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg. According to NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office, located at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, there are upwards of 500,000 marble-sized objects circulating in orbit, joined by millions of objects 1mm or smaller.

In early July The Washington Post wrote about the US Space Force’s quest to establish a military identity and identify what concrete responsibilities this newest branch of the Armed Forces of the United States will have. The article referred to low earth orbit tests of satellite destruction that have already been conducted by Russia and China, as well as speculation that any Chinese action against Taiwan will be predicated on the destruction of numerous satellites to hamper the defense of Taiwan by its own forces and allies.

Of course, any destruction of satellites is an act of creation: the generation of more space junk in low earth orbit.

A Canadian-built robotic manipulation arm on the International Space Station was pierced by an small errant object in 2021. It is not difficult to imagine a more severe outcome from a collision with a larger object. Photo: NASA/Canadian Space Agency

Putting aside the topic of satellite warfare, what to do about the problem that already exists? As might be expected with such a complex issue, opinions vary widely. There have been many proposals and ideas, some translated into proof-of-concept missions like Surrey Space Centre’s RemoveDEBRIS and Japanese company Astroscale’s ELSA-d.

At the moment, one of the most promising efforts taking concrete steps to mitigate the danger of debris in orbit is the ESA (European Space Agency) alliance with the Swiss company ClearSpace SA. They intend to target a VESPA payload adapter, a refrigerator-sized object that has remained in orbit since playing a role in a 2013 ESA Vega mission. Scheduled for 2026, the ClearSpace-1 mission will attempt to rendezvous with VESPA, capture the object, and guide it to a harmless destruction upon reentry to our atmosphere.

The ClearSpace unmanned vehicle is depicted capturing a dormant space object, a small step in the Herculean task of cleaning up Earth orbit. Image: ClearSpace

Ironically – and fully indicative of the urgency of ClearSpace’s mission - just a month ago the VESPA target was itself hit by a small piece space junk, the resulting debris from the collision adding to the amount of trackable objects already in orbit. ClearSpace is analyzing what impact the collision may have on its planned mission to capture and safely deorbit VESPA.

Although ClearSpace remains for now an imposing distance away from being able to reduce the threat of the hundreds of thousands of small objects crowding space, the start of ClearSpace-1 is far better than no action at all.

 

For more information, please visit:

ClearSpace: https://clearspace.today/

NASA Orbital Debris Program Office: https://www.orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/