Clear Space Force Station
Clear Space Force Station | |
---|---|
Near AN/FPS-123 | |
Site history | |
Built | 1949 | (as Clear Air Force Auxiliary Field)
In use | 1949 – present |
Garrison information | |
Occupants | 13th Space Warning Squadron 213th Space Warning Squadron |
Clear Space Force Station is a
In addition to the "original camp area" with buildings still in use today,[2] areas of the station include the airfield (ICAO: PACL), the "SSPARS Site"[3] the technical site (Utilador,[4] BMEWS reflectors, support buildings, power plant), and the composite site (two permanent dormitories, a mess hall, recreation area, and administrative area).[citation needed] In addition to the Air National Guard unit, Clear has active duty USSF, Royal Canadian Air Force, civilian, and contractor personnel.
History
The
In May 1958 total costs for the planned Thule and Clear BMEWS stations were estimated at ~$800 million. In October 1958 they were both estimated to be completed in September 1960.[6] An additional 10-by-40-mile (16 km × 64 km) area[citation needed] was appropriated for BMEWS Site II (cf. BMEWS Site I at Thule).
Clear is served by a spur of the Alaska Railroad, being about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Nenana and the Mears Memorial Bridge over the Tanana River that flows past Clear. This has transported coal for the power station and heavy equipment.
Clear Missile Early Warning Station
Clear Missile Early Warning Station construction began in August 1958 with 700 workers
Three GE AN/FPS-50 Radar Sets were installed with antenna reflectors 165 by 400 feet (50 m × 122 m) that each weigh 1,000 short tons (910 t; 890 long tons). The "Building Two" middle transmitter building had the radar control room[verification needed] and room with the Sylvania AN/FSQ-28 Missile Impact Predictor Set.[13]
The "Clear Msl Early Warning Stn,
Clear transferred to
Missile warning operations
Detachment 2 of the
In 1964, the
In 1966, the last of the five BMEWS tracking radars was installed, an RCA AN/FPS-92 Radar Set with an 84-foot (26 m) diameter antenna[citation needed] housed in a 42.7-meter (140 ft) diameter radome.[17][18][19] The FPS-92 was an improved AN/FPS-49 Radar Set variant with radome blocks having two high-density 1 millimeter thick skins that cover a 15 centimeter thick Kraft-paper core (total of 1,646 hexagonal and pentagonal blocks[20] (the hexagonal blocks were "66-inch panels".)[21] The completion of the FPS-92 raised the final construction price of the missile warning system at Clear to $300 million. $62 million of this figure had been spent by the Alaska District of the Corps of Engineers.)[9]
Clear provided emergency shelter for 216 flood refugees during August 1967, the same year many "temporary" buildings were replaced. Personnel at the installation subsequently provided measurements for a
Beginning in 1987,
Phased array radar
External images | |
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Dogsled near FPS-50 reflectors | |
BMEWS radars after phased array was completed | |
AN/FPS-132 Upgraded Early Warning Radar |
On April 16, 1998, groundbreaking for installing 1987 AN/FPS-115
On August 30, 2006, after a transition that began in 2001,
On 15 June 2021 it was renamed from Clear Air Force Station to Clear Space Force Station.[34]
Long Range Discrimination Radar was being tested at the base in 2022.[35]
Based units
Units based at Clear Space Force Station.[36][37]
Those marked as GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Clear, are subordinate to a unit based at another location.
United States Space Force
United States Air Force
- 168th Wing
- 168th Operations Group
Units to which assigned
- 2006: 213th Space Warning Squadron
- 1983: Air Force Space Command)
- 1979: 15th Air Force (Strategic Air Command)[38]
- 1971: Fourteenth Aerospace Force (Aerospace Defense Command)
- 1967: Outstanding Unit Award in 1970 and 1973[citation needed])
- 1961: Detachment 2, 71st Missile Warning Wing[citation needed]
- 1961: Electronic Systems Division[citation needed]
- 1949: Alaskan Air Command
Amateur radio restrictions
The US Code of Federal Regulations specifies that amateur radio operators within 160 kilometers of Clear must not transmit with more than 50 watts of power on the 70-centimeter band.[39]
References
- ^ "Clear AFS". GlobalSecurity.org. 2005-04-27. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
- ^ a b Cold War Historic Properties of the 21st Space Wing Air Force Space Command (PDF) (Report). OSTI.gov. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
- ^ "Clear Air Force Station, Alaska". Airforce-technology.com. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- ^ "Clear "Utilador"". Lcweb2.loc.gov. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- ^ Cultural Resources Survey and Management Plan of the Clear Air Force Station (PDF) (Report). ORNL.gov. 1991. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
- ^ a b Wainstein, L. (June 1975). The Evolution of U.S. Strategic Command and Control and Warning: Part One (1945-1953) (PDF) (Report). Vol. Study S-467. Institute for Defense Analyses. pp. 1–138. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
- ^ a b "Watchful eye of BMEWS turns toward Soviets" (Google news archive). Ellensburg Daily Record. June 18, 1961. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
- ^ page 269 "William A. Smith Contracting relocated a 40,000-foot length of the railroad.", Poa.usace.army.mil
- ^ a b c "VIII : Military Construction : Creating a Permanent Military Establishment in Alaska" (PDF). Poa.usace.army.mil. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- ^ Rogers, Warren Jr. (June 2, 1960). "Summit Failure Speeds Up Development of BMEWS". Herald Tribune News Service. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
- ^ Installation Restoration Program Preliminary Assessment: Gold King Creek Radio Relay Station, Alaska (PDF) (Report). Hazardous Materials Technical Center. April 1989. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 16, 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
The RRS originally consisted of one radio relay building, one microwave tower enclosed by a chain link fence, and a 2,050-foot runway. These facilities total 30.32 acres. Two 14,000-gallon steel underground diesel fuel storage tanks are located west of the building. Figure 3 shows the original facilities at Gold King Creek RRS.
- ^ "Rabbit Creek White Alice Site" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
- ^ McManus, Gene (September 1996). "BMEWS - 51- Full Days". Bwcinet.com. Archived from the original on 2009-01-14. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
- ISBN 0-912799-53-6. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
Gold King Creek AFS (rdsgd Gold King Creek RR Site) (detchd instl), 45 mi NE of Fairbanks, AK, 16 Jul 1959 (dsgd)... Wideawake Fld (rdsgd Ascension Isl Aux Fid)... Ascension Isl, South Atlantic Ocean, 25 Jun 1956 (actvd)
- ^ a b 1962 NORAD/CONAD Historical Summary, July-December, Northcom.mil
- ^ Del Papa, Dr. E. Michael; Warner, Mary P (October 1987). A Historical Chronology of the Electronic Systems Division 1947-1986 (PDF) (Report). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-08.
7 November [1984] Installation of [SSPARS] radar hardware at Site I, Thule, Greenland, for the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) was begun.
- ^ "The Morning Record - Google News Archive Search". News.google.com. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- ^ "Electronic Eye Watches For Sneak Missile Attack" (Google news archive). Herald-Journal. July 8, 1966. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
- ^ a b "[6.0] Miscellaneous Topics". Vectorsite.net.
- ^ a b "Draft : The Coldest Front : Cold War Military Properties in Alska" (PDF). Nikesummit.net. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- ^ "Reading Eagle - Google News Archive Search". News.google.com. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- ^ Space and Missile Systems Organization: A Chronology, 1954-1979
- ^ "ALERT" (PDF). Dod.mil. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- ^ "Clear Air Force Station, Alaska". Themilitarystandard.com. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- S2CID 109329176– via IEEE Xplore.
- ^ a b Pike, John. "Clear AFS". Globalsecurity.org.
- ISBN 978-0-07-057913-2. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
- ^ "Arecibo 430 MHz Radar System Operation and Maintenance Manual" (PDF). Naic.edu. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- ^ "Clear AFS, AK". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
- ISBN 978-1-59884-006-3.
BMEWS was replaced by the Solid State Phased Array Radar System (SSPARS) in 2001. ... CINCAD (Command in Chief, Aerospace Defense Command)
- ^ "BAE Systems To Continue Maintaining SSPARS Radar Network for U.S. Air Force - SpaceNews.com". 3 March 2014. Archived from the original on March 19, 2014.
- ^ "U.S. to Sell Large Early Warning Radar to Qatar (August 7, 2013) (corrected February 10, 2014)". Mostlymissiledefense.com. 7 August 2013.
- ^ "Fylingdales". Raytheon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-03-11. Retrieved 2014-03-08.
- ^ "Clear Air Force Station renamed as Clear Space Force Station". Buckley.spaceforce.mil.
- ^ "Long-range missile defense radar ready to 'plug in' at NORTHCOM within 'months'". 10 August 2022.
- ^ "Fact Sheet – Space Delta 4 - Missile Warning". Buckley Air Force Base. US Space Force. July 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ Mann, Senior Master Sgt. Paul (20 July 2018). "Clear welcomes a familiar face as new commander". DVIDS. US Department of Defense. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ compiled by Johnson, Mildred W. (31 December 1980) [Feb 1973 original by Cornett, Lloyd H. Jr.]. A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980 (PDF). Peterson AFB: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-02-13. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
- ^ "47 CFR §2.106 - Footnote US270". Retrieved 2023-04-26.
External links
- Media related to Clear Space Force Station at Wikimedia Commons
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. AK-30-A, "Clear Air Force Station, Ballistic Missile Early Warning System Site II, Anderson, Denali Borough, AK", 131 photos, 9 measured drawings, 80 data pages, 18 photo caption pages