Since there was minor damage when a C-17 airlifter collided with a KC-135 during an aerial refueling on Dec. 22, Air Force officials at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, say the service will not release the accident investigation report. The pilot of the borrowed C-17 was Col. William Changose, base commander at Hickam. He voluntarily stopped flying during the investigation, but he has now returned to the cockpit. According to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, the Air Force did not discipline crewmembers in either the C-17 or the KC-135. Hickam received the first of eight C-17s to be based in Hawaii last week.
The Space Development Agency is set to launch 21 Tranche 1 data transport satellites on Oct. 5—its fourth Tranche 1 mission since last fall and the first to carry Northrop Grumman-built satellites.