MARTINSBURG, W.V. - The 167th Airlift Wing was recently asked to help in the National Aeronautic and Space Administration's mission to return astronauts to the moon.
A 15-member C-5 crew from the West Virginia Air National Guard based here at Eastern West Virginia Airport was charged with delivering the Ares 1-X test crew module and launch abort system to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
A refined version of the spacecraft will eventually be used to return astronauts to the moon. It is slated to be launched in July.
It took about six hours to load the cargo into the massive belly of the C-5 at Langley Air Force Base, Va., which was delivered the next day to a shuttle runway at the space center.
"We are a part of history," said Col. Roger L. Nye, commander of the 167th Airlift Wing, who spearheaded the mission.
Nye credits the C-5 loadmasters in helping to make the unit's mission a success.
"They did a phenomenal job," he said. "Everyone at NASA was extremely pleased by the performance of the 167th Airlift Wing's air crew."
Nye said NASA officials were pleased with the unit's "attention to detail, dedication to safety and willingness to get the job done."