Topic: KwajHourglassNews

KWAJALEIN: First Reagan Test Site Director Replaces Last Commander

On July 24, a first and a last occurred. Lt. Col. John Eggert became the first to be designated as Director of Reagan Test Site (RTS) and Lt. Col. Harold Buhl, Jr., became the last to be designated as Commander of RTS. Buhl turned leadership of the range over to Eggert at the Change of Responsibility ceremony. Because the position will no longer oversee troops, the site now has a director rather than a commander.

The event was attended by visiting dignitaries, including the Honorable John Silk, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bob MacCallum, the Charge' d' Affairs at the U.S. Embassy on Majuro and George Snyder, director, Sensors Integration and Test & Evaluation Directorate (SITE), U.S. Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command (SMDC/ARSTRAT).

KWAJALEIN: Commander Visit, Fiber Optic, Sattelite Launch, Coast Guard Post

General Kevin P. Chilton, USSTRATCOM Commander, Visits USAKA - Visit emphasizes the importance the Reagan Test Site plays in supporting the war fighter mission

Streamlined Submarine Cable Landing License Applications Accepted For Filing - System"). FFC REPORT: MINTA will own, control, construct, and operate the RMI System

Razaksat Set For Mid-July Launch - now expected to be blasted into space from Kwajalein Island mid-July.

HOURGLASS: Guard Cutter Sequoia visits Kwajalein - crew members out to Enniburr with clothes, toys, school supplies, medical supplies.

Launch Today of NASA Spacecraft To Explore Outer Solar System

The first NASA spacecraft to image and map the dynamic interactions taking place where the hot solar wind slams into the cold expanse of space is ready for launch Oct. 19. The two-year mission will begin from the Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, launch is set for 1:48 p.m. EDT. Today's launch window extends from 1:44 to 1:52 p.m. EDT. "Wheels-up" for Orbital Sciences L-1011 carrier aircraft from the Kwajalein Atoll runway to carry Pegasus to the "drop zone" is scheduled for 12:50 p.m.

• LIVE COVERAGE OF LAUNCH FROM KWAJALEIN


• Launch and post launch webcast information

UPDATES: Message from Elon Musk; Summary, Video

SpaceX Falcon Flight Ends Prematurely During Ascent

KWAJALEIN: Falcon 1 Launch Set for August 2 and IBEX in October

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) has scheduled the launch of the Falcon 1 Flight 3 mission for Saturday, August 2. The launch window will open at 4:00 p.m. (PDT) / 7:00 p.m. (EDT) and remain open for five hours. If launch is delayed for any reason, SpaceX has range availability to resume countdown through August 5. Lift-off of the vehicle will occur from SpaceX's Falcon 1 launch site at the Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, about 2500 miles southwest of Hawaii. Falcon 1 launch facilities are situated on Omelek Island, part of the Reagan Test Site (RTS) at United States Army Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) in the Central Pacific.
MORE:

• LIVE WEBCAST: Falcon 1-Flight 3 Launch Today
• Private rocket ride for 'Scotty,' satellite
• NASA Nanosatellites Catch Ride On Rocket, Demonstrate Technology
• Orbital Delivers NASA's IBEX Satellite To Vandenberg Air Force Base

Orbital Delivers NASA's IBEX Satellite To Vandenberg Air Force Base

Orbital Sciences Corporation announced today that the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) satellite has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), CA following the completion of its manufacturing, integration and testing activities at Orbital’s facilities in Dulles, VA. The satellite arrived at VAFB on Monday, July 28 to begin the integration process with the Pegasus launch vehicle that will launch it into orbit, which is currently scheduled to take place in early October.

The company-built Interstellar Boundary Explorer Spacecraft will be launched aboard Pegasus Rocket from Kwajalein Atoll, in the Marshall Islands, near the Equator.

New Commander for United States Army Kwajalein Atoll

COL Stevenson L. Reed, Commander of U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) for the past two years, relinquished command to COL Frederick S. Clarke on July 31, 2008. USAKA and the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site, located in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), has been an integral part of ballistic-missile testing and space operations for more than forty years.

Marshall Islands President Litokwa Tomeing and delegation were scheduled travel to Kwajalein this week to attend the Change of Command Ceremony.

Another Bombing Practice Scheduled at Kwajalein

Marshall Islands government officials were notified earlier this month of an aerial bombing practice at Kwajalein Atoll planned for this week.

Air crews flying two-B-52 aircraft from the 36th Operations Group, Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, are scheduled to conduct ordinance delivery procedures at the U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Reagan Test Site on Wednesday, with a back up date of May 16.

U.S. Army to Reduce "Footprint" on Kwajalein

By 2010, many Kwajalein missile range operations will be distributed to Huntsville, Alabama, reducing the on-island footprint. Radio and television spots by Col. Stevenson Reed, USAKA commander, announcing the transition plan, were followed-up last week with two town hall meetings at the military facility in the Marshall Islands.

A question was posed on whether the footprint reduction would mean less use of the Marshallese islands on the Atoll. The USAKA representative said that most of the islands are in mid-atoll corridor and cannot be inhabited while missions are ongoing. "Some of the areas require clean up before they can be returned to the RMI people for inhabitation," he said.

Six Marshallese Men Inducted into the U.S. Army from Kwajalein

RMI Relations Specialist Christi Bowman of the U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll/RTS provided news of the recent induction ceremony of Marshallese recruits from Ebeye, Kwajalein. The following article, originally published in the Kwajalein Hourglass, was written by Tamara Ward:

Sept. 1 marked a life-changing moment for six Marshallese men as they officially finished the Recruit Indoctrination Program by being inducted into the United States Army. William Boutu, Willie Beio, Benny DeBrum, Paul Lemari, Henty Maika, and Aless Lanwi were the young men who successfully completed the military training program.

USAKA Commander Says U.S. Plans to Stay at Kwajalein

In two recent meetings with workers, the U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll commander spoke about changes coming to the facility which hosts the Space and Missile Defense Command's missile range. During a town hall meeting on May 3, 2007, with hundreds of Marshallese workers, Col. Stevenson Reed said the U.S. government is not planning on departing Kwajalein in the near future, and plans to be in the RMI beyond 2016. He was referring to the end of the current Land Use Agreement with Kwajalein landowners.

The Colonel said he briefed the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Senators from Kwajalein two weeks before on the status of fiber optics and how it would affect the range. The project, due to be operational by 2009, is a 10 to 15 year lease. “That tells you we plan on investing in it for that long."

Kwajalein News and Launch Information

HOURGLASS: RMI's first Olympic appearance - Swimmer Jared Heine hopes to do well Bejing games

7 Candidates for Kwajalein - Special election February 20.

Vehicle repair shop opened on Kwajalein Atoll - $10 million facility

Launch to test both missile and silo door - Minuteman 3 missile test planned for 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7

Spacex hits a snag - Launch delayed until next month

Explosion at Kwajalein Dock Results in Death

A citizen of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) was killed in a job-related accident yesterday at the Marine Department Dry Dock on Kwajalein.

Danny Lajouj, 33, an employee of Chugach Development Corporation, a sub-contractor of Kwajalein Range Services (KRS), was working as a painter in the starboard ballast tank of the LCU Manassas when the explosion occurred at approximately 12:10 p.m., Friday, February 24.

Marshall Islands Teams Boycott B-Ball and Other Kwajalein News
Marshallese basketball teams, except for Job Corps, will boycott the 2004 season at Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, because of what they feel represents harrassment by local law enforcement officials. The Marshallese teams are from Ebeye, which is located just a few miles north of the U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll base and home to over 10,000 Marshall Islanders. The teams say only Americans have been allowed to drink at games, while Marshallese and their sponsors have been ticketed. It was reported in the April 2 issue that team players met with traditional leaders and announced the boycott at the manager's meeting last week. >>more Kwaj news>>

News and stories from Kwajalein Hourglass

Couple stops on Kwaj during post-retirement voyages (pdf)

Jim and Carol Todd sailed to Marshalls on the Morning Wings, spent 1 1/2 on Majuro

Roi Chili event cooks for kids (pdf)

Event raises more than $10,000 for Enniburr Children’s Christmas Fund.

Dark and stormy month (pdf)

Thunderstorms and higher than normal temps recorded by Aeromet as Kwaj gets ready for the "wet" season.

Archaeologist studies Roi’s historical sites (pdf)

Historical information is being lost as sites deteriorate and elderly Marshallese and veterans with first-hand stories pass away.

New U.S. Ambassador Morris hits the ground running (pdf)

Ambassador met with officials and toured Ebeye, where she met Iroij Michael Kabua.

Army base at Kwajalein wants to use Marshalls businesses to provide supplies

The US army based at the Kwajalein missile testing range in the Marshall Islands has said it intends to turn to local business to provide supplies. Kwajalein commander, Colonel Jerry Brown, told the Majuro Chamber of Commerce that some people might be skeptical because of past promises that were not delivered on.

MI’s WIA board talks of new projects (PDF)

With the official opening of the Ebeye Computer Center on Feb. 11, The Workforce Investment Act
board helped the island jump into the 21st century. But the board doesn’t just fund modern projects,
said John M. Silk, Republic of the Marshall Islands Resources and Development minister. “Our primary objective is to really get people to help themselves, whether it is sustaining themselves by being fishermen or by doing handicrafts,” he said.