The 433rd assisted the U.S. Forest Service by use of the Modular Airborne FireFighting System. It airlifted other units overseas for deployments and conducted humanitarian airlift operations. Between 1977 and 1985, the wing rotated personnel and aircraft periodically to Howard Air Force Base in the Panama Canal Zone. In 1985, it became the first Air Force reserve wing to fly the Lockheed C-5A Galaxy, the largest USAF operational aircraft, and changed from a tactical to a strategic airlift missions. It also began training for air refueling. It tested a C-5A modified to transport space vehicles and in 1989 airlifted the Hubble Space Telescope from California to Kennedy Space Center, Florida.