From Coast To Coast, Launch Takes A Team
by U.S. Space Force A1C Ian Hawkes
July 6, 2026 Need an expert welder, three-dimensional printing, metal castings or scaled rocket models? Look no further than U.S. Space Force 30th Operations Support Squadron’s Training Device Design and Engineering Center, which recently provided critical equipment repairs to Space Launch Delta 30’s mission partners in launch, Space Launch Delta 45. The TDDEC’s willingness to assist on the Eastern Range exemplified how partnering ensures mission success. For more than 60 years, TDDEC members have designed and assembled training tools and devices. They utilize SolidWorks, a 3D computer-aided drafting system, while developing time and cost estimates for space and missile professionals. The TDDEC performs all aspects of the fabrication process, including purchasing materials, managing computer numerical control, machining, welding, wood crafting, 3D printing, mold-making, casting, painting, laser engraving and more.
Joaquin Tinker, SLD 30 TDDEC director, proactively coordinated the repair effort with his team.
“My team felt confident that this effort could be accomplished by TDDEC with a high degree of success, and quickly,” Tinker said.
The task involved SLD 45’s Pump Station 7. Pump Station 7 is a more than 60-year-old facility that provides essential water to Space Launch Complexes 40 and 41. SLD 45 sent the damaged component to SLD 30’s shop, where Tinker and his team fixed it and returned it. 
June 30, 2026 - Training Device Design and Engineering Center engineering technicians work with a manual turning center at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Recently, Space Launch Delta 30’s TDDEC fixed a component of Pump Station 7, a more than 60-year-old facility that provides essential water to Space Launch Complexes 40 and 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. One of the TDDEC’s primary functions is to coordinate with customers and produce training aids, models, and full device replicas to help servicemembers train and fulfill their missions at Vandenberg. (Image created by USA Patriotism! from U.S. Service photo by A1C Ian Hawkes.)
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U.S. Space Force Col. James T. Horne III, SLD 30 commander, emphasized the importance of supporting partners and combining mission efforts along the Western and Eastern ranges.
“The work that our TDDEC performs is exceptional and unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Horne said. “I am extremely proud of our team for supporting a fix for any system that’s critical to SLD 45’s launch operation pedigree. Despite the distance between us, our mission is their mission.”
The SLD 45 commander shared a similar outlook on the support from their sister site.
“The space launch mission is not autonomous,” said U.S. Space Force Col. Brian Chatman, SLD 45 commander. “We work in lockstep with our counterparts at Space Launch Delta 30. This joint effort between our two Deltas, backed by specialized Air Force and Space Force support units, is what ensures continuous, uninterrupted access to space for our nation.”
Communication may sometimes be seen as a barrier to success, yet between these two coastal installations, it became the foundation for shared achievement. U.S. Space Force | U.S. Department of War Our Valiant Troops | I Am The One | Uncommon Valor | Veterans | Citizens Like Us | Spouses Serve Too |
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