CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The spectacle of launches captivates Space Coast locals and visitors from around the world on a nearly weekly basis. But before and after several missions, a small team based at Patrick Space Force Base can be called upon to ensure the safety of those in a 30-mile radius.

The 45th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron has about a dozen members. One of its leaders, U.S. Air Force Capt. Kevin Moy said his biomedical engineering degree led him to this opportunity.

“You get to do cool stuff like this: get close to rockets, detect chemicals, protect people,” Moy said while speaking with Spectrum News along the Intergate-Transfer-Launch (ITL) causeway. “I had no clue this job existed, and it’s been pretty cool so far.”

Ahead of certain launches, a pair of teammates will don extensive personal protective equipment, including an M7 air mask, a self-contained breathing apparatus and a chemical-resistant suit.

They use a special tape around their boots, gloves and facemask to ensure a tight seal before heading toward the hazard zone surrounding the launch pad. They then take air quality readings at T-50 minutes, T-10 minutes and shortly after the launch.

“Range safety gives us plume models of where expected chemicals will go to as well as what constituents,” Moy said. “Some of our job, we have to respond to unknown hazards versus this is a known hazard. Luckily, that’s why we have specific meters that are able to detect what they need and we just get in the mindset to look for anything that’s abnormal.”

Those meters are designed to monitor for things like nitrogen dioxide and hydrazine that could present a risk.

“It’s very interesting, to say the least. It’s a special experience for our career field in this specific base,” said Tech. Sgt. Jonathan Sabat said. “We’re making sure people are protected from anything, if an anomaly were to happen with the rockets themselves.”

Moy said a fair amount of planning goes into their operation before they’re called up. He said in addition to supporting all crew missions, they also usually help cover newer rockets, like Relativity Space’s Terran 1, which had its first launch earlier this year.

His team covered about 30% of launches in 2022, which comes out to roughly 17 of the 57 launches between NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

With the Space Coast preparing for as many as 92 launches in 2023 and increasingly more each year, Moy said it can be a bit of a strain on their team.

“With the launch ops increasing, that’s a struggle we’re going to have. Dealing with man power, cause we have two people here at minimum and one other person,” Moy said. “So, three of our 12 people and we still have our normal, day-to-day mission to take care of.”

While it can be difficult to juggle amid other duties, U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Samantha Fox said even after eight months on the job, it’s still a high honor.

“It definitely feels like you’re doing something important, especially when you’re driving back or driving to, and you see a big crowd of people and when you’re doing it, you’re thinking of them,” Fox said.