45th weather squadron became the 1st all-female team to supervise spaceX Starlink launch

Elon Musk's SpaceX on Saturday, June 13 successfully launched 58 Starlink internet satellites along with three small Earth-observation satellites into the orbit before the Falcon 9 rocket returned to the planet. The launch marked the second SpaceX mission this month, with one more mission scheduled for June 22.

With plans of conducting fourth space launch within a month, Elon Musk's SpaceX is proudly taking advantage of its elite Falcon 9 boosters which are "reusable, two-stage rocket designed and manufactured for the reliable and safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond", as per SpaceX.

It is reportedly the world's first orbital-class reusable rocket. Read on to know more about how an all-female weather squadron came into existence for the first time in the history of U.S. space force. 

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SpaceX Starlink launch & the all-female 45th weather squadron

Starlink is a satellite constellation being constructed by SpaceX to provide satellite Internet access. According to several reports, this satellite constellation will consist of thousands of small Starlink satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) which will be working in combination with ground transceivers. 

There was a team of six women which included three military and three civilian weather officers. These officers are assigned to perform weather assessments and forecasts that are advisory for the launch. The team is a part of US space force and works from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It is their call that the liftoff of the launch depends on. 

The 45th weather squadron team comprises of 

• Meteorologist Arlena Moses, the lead launch weather officer; 
• Airman 1st Class Hannah Mulcahey, the duty forecaster; 
• Maj. Emily Graves, who is the launch weather commander; 
• Capt. Nancy Zimmerman, the launch weather director; 
• Meteorologist Melody Lovin, the reconnaissance launch weather officer;
• NOAA meteorologist and flight director Jessica Williams as the radar launch weather officer. 

Why this is the first time that U.S. space force had an all-female weather squadron team?

This is the first time when the U.S. Space force has had a sufficient number of women officers who could serve as launch weather officers to make an entire team. That is why the 45th weather squadron is a special one. 

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NASA-SpaceX Mission

Previously, the United States' National Aeronautics Space Agency (NASA) and SpaceX launched a spacecraft carrying two astronauts to the ISS on May 30. The Crew Dragon was successfully launched into the near-Earth orbit. 

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