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Concept
Shemya
Summary
Shemya or Simiya (Samiyax̂) is a small island in the Semichi Islands group of the Near Islands chain in the Aleutian Islands archipelago southwest of Alaska, at . It has a land area of , and is about southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. It is wide and long.
The Russian vessel Saint Peter and Paul wrecked at Shemya in 1762. Most of the crew survived.
A United States Air Force radar, surveillance, and weather station and aircraft refueling station, including a runway, opened on Shemya in 1943 and is still in operation. The station, originally Shemya Air Force Base or Shemya Station, had 1,500 workers at its peak in the 1960s. In 1956, Northwest Airlines leased Shemya Island from the U.S. government to use as a refueling station on their North Pacific route. According to Northwest's website, that made them "the first airline to operate its own airport." Northwest was operating Lockheed Constellation L-1049G model propliners on its "Orient Express" service between the U.S. and Asia in 1956.
The United States Air Force airborne intelligence platforms "Cobra Ball", "Rivet Amber," and "Rivet Ball" flew intercontinental ballistic missile tracking flights from this island near the Soviet Union, especially the Kamchatka Peninsula, during the height of the Cold War. Observations from Shemya were normally the first radar reports of new Soviet satellite launches from Tyuratam (Baikonur) in the early days of satellite tracking; see Project Space Track.
The station was renamed the Eareckson Air Station in 1993 to honor USAF Colonel William O. Eareckson, who had commanded bomber operations during the Aleutian Campaign of World War II.
The station still operates as a radar station and aircraft refueling station with a staff of about 180 people. The 2000 census reported an official resident population of 27 persons on the island.
One of the most recognizable features of the island is the COBRA DANE radar system. This radar was built in 1976 and brought on-line in 1977 for the primary mission of intelligence gathering in support of verification of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) II agreement.
Official source
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