Kaena Point Space Force Station is a

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...

installation Installation may refer to: * Installation (computer programs) * Installation, work of installation art * Installation, military base * Installation, into an office, especially a religious (Installation (Christianity) Installation is a Christian li ...

Kaena Point Kaena or Kaena Point is the westernmost tip of land on the island of Oahu. In Hawaiian, ''kaena'' means 'the heat'. The area was named after a brother or cousin of Pele. The point is designated as a Natural Area Reserve. Some ancient Hawaii ...

on the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. It is a remote

tracking station A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves fro ...

of the

Satellite Control Network The Satellite Control Network (SCN), operated by the United States Space Force's Space Delta 6, provides support for the operation, control, and maintenance of a variety of United States Department of Defense and some non-DoD satellites. This i ...

responsible for tracking

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...

s in

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as ...

, many of which support the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

, receiving and processing data and in turn, enabling control of satellites by relaying commands from control centers. The station originally opened in 1959 to support the

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...

reconnaissance program. Detachment 3,

21st Space Operations Squadron The 21st Space Operations Squadron (21 SOPS) is a satellite control unit of the Space Delta 6 of the United States Space Force, located at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Prior to July 2020, it was part of the 50th Network Operations G ...

, part of

Space Delta 6 Space Delta 6 (DEL 6) is a United States Space Force unit which assures access to space through the $6.8 billion Satellite Control Network and defensive cyberspace capabilities for space mission systems. Activated on 24 July 2020, the delta is ...

, operates Hawaii Tracking Station on the site. It was constructed in 1959, one of three built that year. The facility is placed near the westernmost point of the island of Oahu, atop a high ridge. The two

radome A radome (a portmanteau of radar and dome) is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weather and conceal antenna e ...

s are locally known as the "golf balls", and are a popular landmark for fishing vessels in the surrounding waters. Yokohama Bay State Park is at the base of the ridge, with a hiking trail that goes to the point and around to the northern side of the ridge, to Mokuleia Beach. The station roadways provide access to state hiking and hunting trails, as well as a camping site about inland called Peacock Flats by permit only. Permits to enter through the station to hike, hunt, or camp on the surrounding State lands can be obtained from the

Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is a part of the Hawaii state government dedicated to managing, administering, and exercising control over public lands, water resources and streams, ocean waters, coastal areas, minerals ...

in downtown Honolulu. On 16 June 2021, it was renamed from Kaena Point Satellite Tracking Station to Kaena Point Space Force Station.

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Permission form
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Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HAER) documentation, filed under Ka'ena Point, Wai'anae Mountains above Keawaula Bay, Waialua, Honolulu County, HI: ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** {{HIMilitary Earth stations in the United States Historic American Engineering Record in Hawaii Installations of the United States Space Force 1959 establishments in Hawaii