Kodiak Island in Alaska is famous for huge Kodiak bears, world-class salmon fishing, and the magnificent green that the island turns during the summer--which is why Kodiak is affectionately called Alaska's Emerald Isle.
But in recent years Kodiak Island has become known for something else. Star Wars. Hard to believe?
In 1992 the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation’s (AADC) was created and built the Kodiak Launch Complex. The people of the island organized to fight this development saying that putting a rocket launch facility on this pristine island would severely impact the fishing and tourist industry.
The public was promised that the launch complex wouldn't have any significant impact on the environment though Republican Sen. Ted Stevens made sure that no Environmental Impact Statement was required. The promoters of the launch complex also assured island residents that all launches would be for civilian uses, there would be no military role for the facility.
Local activists though knew better than to trust the assurances of these politicians. They smelled something fishy going on. They learned that each launch could release approximately 23,500 pounds of hydrochloric acid into the atmosphere and other dangerous substances into the ocean. They knew that this contamination could over time have tremendous negative impact on the local environment. (At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, after each space launch, there are significant fish kills due to the accumulation of toxic exhaust pollutants in the water.)
People also worried what would happen to wayward missiles that failed to properly launch.
As it turns out the only launches from the Kodiak spaceport so far have been military tests.
According to Alaska activist, and Global Network board member Stacey Fritz, "Until 2001, the Air Force with its Atmospheric Interceptor Tests had been the Kodiak Launch Complex's only customer. More of those tests are planned, but in 2001 the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command arranged for the AADC to host twenty of the U.S. Army Strategic Target System missile tests, commonly known as the STARS program. These are the missiles that simulate incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles fired from Asia so that the military in the South Pacific can attempt to intercept them in mid-air with the latest missile defense technology. "
Things now seem to be picking up even more for the Kodiak site as the AADC announced last December that the "Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC) requires a dedicated rocket motor storage facility and an additional launch pad. KLC’s existing two launch pads are right next to each and can not be used simultaneously, thereby limiting customers and launches. The additional facilities will allow multiple launch customers to be on site simultaneously, double KLC’s launch capabilities, and result in KLC being a full service spaceport. AADC is currently developing a long-term relationship with the U.S. Air Force. The USAF plans on initiating the Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) program with the goal of having launch on demand capability – placing national defense assets in orbit with very little lead time. KLC is an attractive launch site for the ORS program because the KLC offers flexible launch scheduling not available at other U.S. launch sites; and launches from KLC avoid populated areas, environmentally sensitive areas, and congested air routes."
The AADC is requesting $35 million for these launch site upgrades.
Once more we see how the military industrial complex lies their way into a community with false promises. Then once established, they dramatically expand their operations. Any chance to protect the community from this rampant militarism is lost as the local economy becomes reliant on the few jobs created and the local political class and media become subservient to the big money thrown around.
This story is being repeated daily across the nation and around the world as the military empire gobbles up community after community for bases, training facilities, and weapons testing.
http://www.space4peace.org
Bruce Gagnon is the Coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space.
Between 1983–1998 Bruce was the State Coordinator of the Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice.
He was the organizer of the Cancel Cassini Campaign (launched 72 pounds of plutonium into space in 1997) that was featured on the TV program 60 Minutes.
Bruce has been featured by artist Robert Shetterly in his collection of portraits and quotes entitled Americans Who Tell The Truth.In 2006 he was the recipient of the Dr. Benjamin Spock Peacemaker Award.
In 2003 Bruce co-produced a popular video entitled Arsenal of Hypocrisy that spells out U.S. plans for space domination.His latest video, shot in 2006, is entitled The Necessity of the Conversion of the Military Industrial Complex.
In 1968 Bruce was Vice-chair of the Okaloosa County (Florida) Young Republican Club while working on the Nixon campaign for president.
Bruce is a Vietnam-era veteran and began his career by working for the United Farm Workers Union in Florida organizing fruit pickers.
Unsupported Assertion Detracts From Credibility of Thesis
Mr. Gagnon:
Please cite your source(s) for your assertion:
"The promoters of the launch complex also assured island residents that all launches would be for civilian uses, there would be no military role for the facility."
Thank you for your viewpoint.
by
Form (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 25 comments)
on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 9:20:00 PM
I am a resident of Kodiak Island. From the beginning in 1995, AADC assured the community that the KLC was to be a facility for launching commercial rockets for customers such as telecommunications companies, etc. When pressed by persistent questioning, they would begrudgingly admit that the military "might be a customer" because they were willing to launch any rocket for anyone who would pay. But AADC always insisted they were going to launch for private businesses. ALL of their launches to date have been military; even the "NASA" launch was funded at least partially through DOD. In fact, all but ten million of total construction costs were paid by the federal government. That's why here in Kodiak, we call it "Space Pork Kodiak".
by
Norockets (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments)
on Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 10:19:17 AM
Thank you for your clarification of the messages presented to the residents of Kodiak. However, what you state and what Mr. Gagnon asserted are quite different. i think Mr. Gagnon should provide his source(s) for his version of the history of the decision process.
by
Form (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 25 comments)
on Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 2:15:20 PM
Form - this is Stacey Fritz writing. I know NoRockets (the Kodiak resident) and Bruce Gagnon well and serve on the board of the Global Network. Bruce got a lot of the info for that article from a chapter from my master's thesis on missile defense in Alaska which is available from the University of Alaska Rasmuson Library. In addition to speaking with numerous Kodiak residents about what they were told, here are a couple citations from my thesis that describe that process:
Kizzia, Tom (1998, November 1). Shades of Star Wars.Anchorage Daily News.
Kodiak forum angers rocket project critics. (1997, April 24). Anchorage Daily News.
Skiff, Jennifer (1996, October 14). Environmentalists blast plan to launch rockets from Alaska. CNN, available at click here
Stevens, Brad (2001, April 16). Enough! Kodiak Daily Mirror, letter to the editor.
Studebaker, Stacy (2000, December 5). The AADC Trojan Horse. The Kodiak Daily Mirror, Guest Opinion.
Thomas, R. (1991, August 25) Space, at warp speed.Anchorage Daily News
The AADC was also audited by the Alaska State Legislative Budget and AUdit committee. They are cited in these excerpts from that thesis:
The purpose of the corporation was to allow Alaska to take a lead role in the exploration and development of space, to enhance human and economic development, and to provide a unified direction for space-related economic growth and space-related educational and research development.AADC was also to champion the continued utilization of the Poker Flat Research Range for the university’s polar research, the promotion of space-related tourism, and the development of a state strategy for implementing space-related economic growth (LB&A, 1995).The project would be financed largely through state bonds, and profits from the commercial launches would then pay back the state.The AADC was presented as a “hard-nosed business deal using the state’s financial muscle to put Alaska on the cutting edge of a new high-tech industry,” (Kizzia, 1998).
A few residents raised questions about the environmental impacts of rocket launches, but the AADC administrators assured them that a thorough Environmental Impact Statement would first assess all of the possible social, economic, and environmental effects of the proposed Kodiak Launch Complex, also known as Kodiak’s Spaceport.Some residents expressed the concern that the launch site risked becoming a tool of the military, but they were promised that all operations would remain entirely commercial.The executive director of AADC, Pat Ladner, stated at local meetings that the launch facility would not be run by the military, but would remain state-owned and operated under the Department of Transportation.In response to concerns about rocket launches involving nuclear materials, Ladner read a letter to the public from a satellite manufacturer affirming that communication satellites do not use uranium, enriched uranium, or plutonium. (“Kodiak forum…”1997).Ladner boasted that the Kodiak launch site would be the only state-operated commercial launch range in the U.S.“What we offer is an opportunity for commercial satellite people to control their own operations.At other launch sites, you always have to worry about being out-prioritized by a military launch,” (Clark, 1997).The company’s website affirmed a commercial approach as well.Local politicians and city officials welcomed the plan with great enthusiasm and prepared for the space market boom that was headed their way (Studebaker, 2000).
Please let me know if you want me to email you the complete bibliography at info@nonukesnorth.net
by
Stacey Fritz (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments)
on Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 5:32:33 PM
Thank you for your attention to this issue. I appreciate the material you provided and it helps me understand the history more fully. I would appreciate the complete citation for your masters thesis so I may become more familiar with your scholarship on this issue.
I remain troubled by comparing the following:
Gagnon: "The promoters of the launch complex also assured island residents that all launches would be for civilian uses, there would be no military role for the facility.
Local activists though knew better than to trust the assurances of these politicians."
Studebaker: "Some residents expressed the concern that the launch site risked becoming a tool of the military, but they were promised that all operations would remain entirely commercial."
In Gagnon's piece, I would like to know, by name, which politicians provided assurances. I would also like direct quotes, if available, to substantiate the multiple ("promoters") assurances of all civilian use. If Gagnon did not use primary sources he should clarify the limitations of the record for his rhetoric.
In Studebaker's guest opinion piece, the use of passive voice "they were promised" again leaves unclear the identity of the specific individuals who made statement(s) that Studebaker believes stipulated exculsive commercial use.
Thank you for your comment and work on this issue.
by
Form (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 25 comments)
on Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 10:52:03 PM
The link in Bruce's article is to the entire (albeit very out of date) chapter. I need your email address to send you the bibliography - you can just email it to me at info@nonukesnorth.net.
You can use the wayback machine (internet archive) to verify that AADC itself totally downplayed military possibilities.
It is probably true that nowhere did any politicians or AADC promoters swear on the bible that there would be no military. If you take that as some kind of a-ha! discovery that discredits Bruce, then you are missing the actual story. It is completely true to say that Kodiak residents were seriously mislead, promised it would not be military, and that indeed the KLC has become a large and expanding tool of the military when it sold itself as something else. Bruce does not really require primary sources for an article like this - this is what the sources and everyone in Kodiak says except maybe Pat Ladner - and I have other research to do besides look through old newspaper articles and such to prove something that needs no further proof. It's like you're saying "define 'promise'".
by
Stacey Fritz (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments)
on Thursday, January 24, 2008 at 4:16:32 PM
Aircraft accounted for, no craters found during search
Article published on Wednesday, September 26th, 2007
By SCOTT CHIRSTIANSEN
Mirror Writer
Several Kodiakans saw something fall from the sky Tuesday morning that may have landed in mountainous terrain on Kodiak Island. The incident prompted 911 calls and a helicopter search was launched from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, but no crash site was found.
This story from last September may be a “Marking” event by the High-level powers. What is going on at that site? The ET “Mark” something as a suggestion that we take a look at what our nuclear war fighting elite are up to there.
by
Patrick (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 424 comments)
on Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 3:13:34 PM
7 comments
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