"Setting the Pace for Space"

Colonel Mark Shoemaker is the Commander, 45th Operations Group at Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

He leads a team of over 1,500 Space Force, Air Force, and contractor personnel and manages critical processing facilities valued at over $7 billion in support of space launch activities.  He oversees the operations and maintenance of $20 billion in instrumentation and infrastructure for the 15-million-square-mile Eastern Range, operates three airfields, and supports 10,000 customers with communication and cyber services.  Furthermore, Colonel Shoemaker oversees the vital operations, engineering, acquisition, and maintenance support for launch vehicles and government satellites prepared and launched on the Eastern Range.

Colonel Shoemaker commissioned in December 1996 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Iowa State University as a Distinguished Graduate, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He entered Active Duty in February 1997. His career includes various technical, programmatic, and operational assignments, including multiple positions in space acquisition and as a squadron operations officer and squadron commander in space launch.  https://www.patrick.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/1936607/colonel-mark-a-shoemaker/

He will be introduced by his father, Dennis Shoemaker, and he will be available to answer questions about the recent success of the February 18th Perseverance Rover landing on Mars which launched from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 41 on July 30, 2020.

Additional details about the 45th Space Wing and their Airmen can be found at www.patrick.spaceforce.mil. 

And you may follow them on social media for current updates.

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