United States Space Force – UofL News Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:55:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 UofL military-connected student oversees launch of SpaceX missions while earning degree /post/uofltoday/uofl-military-connected-student-oversees-launch-of-spacex-missions-while-earning-degree/ Fri, 13 Dec 2024 16:05:54 +0000 /?p=61705 On Dec. 20, the United States Space Force celebrates its fifth birthday. In honor of this milestone, UofL’s Center for Military-Connected Students introduces us to Pavel Buechter, a developmental engineer in the U.S. Space Force and a student in UofL’s online through the .

Pavel Buechter is a developmental engineer in the U.S. Space Force and a student in UofL’s online master of engineering in engineering management.
Pavel Buechter is a developmental engineer in the U.S. Space Force and a student in UofL’s online master of engineering in engineering management.

Second Lieutenant Pavel Buechter was commissioned in 2023 and is currently stationed at Vandenberg Space Force Base in central California, where he is a mission integrator with the 2nd Range Operations Squadron, where he manages and integrates government and commercial launches at Vandenberg.

In this role, he works with contractors like Northrop Grumman, Firefly Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Stratolaunch and SpaceX.

He supports the launch service providers by making sure they abide by range policy and procedures, along with managing their use of government launch infrastructure.

Buechter represents the range and the Space Force to mission partners, and helps establish the path to mission success. His current focus is managing the restoration and revitalization of a launch complex to support its first mission in more than 15 years.

Buechter, who is cross trained as a Range Operations Commander (ROC), has overseen the launch of various commercial SpaceX launch missions.

In 2023, Buechter was awarded the U.S. Space Force quarterly award for commitment. He has also been awarded various team awards for mission integration and nuclear deterrence.

He said his favorite part of the job is getting to be a part of the team that, “launches rockets and puts satellites into orbit to support the warfighter downrange.”

Buechter said he chose UofL because of the fully online master’s degree and how well UofL supports its military-connected students. The program is also offered at a reduced tuition rate, which matches the military tuition assistance rate.

Buechter said his degree will help him better oversee Space Force projects and make him a better leader.

]]> Space Force guardian chooses UofL online program to pursue master’s degree /post/uofltoday/space-force-guardian-chooses-uofl-online-program-to-pursue-masters-degree/ Wed, 14 Dec 2022 21:24:55 +0000 /?p=57839 Hanson FinelyĚýis a firstĚýlieutenant in the United States Space Force and a student.
A native of Colorado Springs, Hanson was commissioned out of the United States Air Force Academy in 2019 as an acquisition officer. His first assignment was at the GPS Operations Support and Sustainment Division at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado SpringsĚýwhere he served as a program manager for the sustainment and modernization of the GPS operational control segment.
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Following that assignment, Hanson moved to the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate as the government lead for the Catalyst Accelerator. The Catalyst Accelerator’s mission is to introduce innovative, dual-use technology to the Department of Defense in support of the U.S. Warfighter while strengthening the nation’s economy by investing in start-ups and small businesses.
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Hanson chose UofL in 2021 due to its “great reputation within the military community because of the flexible programming and mutual understanding that duty comes first.” He said the certificate options offered within the online master of business administration program were appealing, specifically the managerial analytics certificate.
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His favorite part of his time at UofL has been getting to know his classmates and working with them on a wide range of projects throughout the MBA program.
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“Everyone has a unique background and it’s been great getting to know people on a professional and personal level,” he said.
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Among the excellent faculty and staff in the MBA program, Hanson cited Professor Jeff Rushton, his MBA 655 – Strategic Management instructor. Hanson said Rushton provided immediate feedback and had a great ability to encourage students to dig deeper on topics.
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Finley hopes to utilize his MBA to serve as an instructor either in a Reserve Officer Training Corp detachment or at his alma mater, the U.S. Air Force Academy.
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UofL is proud to recognize the third birthday of the United States Space Force on Dec. 21 by recognizing a Space Force member – known as “guardians” within the service – who also is a UofL student.
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The United States Space Force is the nation’s newest branch of the Armed Forces, coming into existence in 2019. According to its mission statement the United States Space Force is “responsible for organizing, training and equipping guardians to conduct global space operations that enhance the way our joint and coalition forces fight, while also offering decision makers military options to achieve national objectives.”
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