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This report is part of the RAND Corporation research report series. RAND reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.
Research Report
A Sixty-Year Timeline of the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site
Megan Clifford, Dave Baiocchi, William Welser IV
RAND Project AIR FORCE
Prepared for the United States Air Force Approved for public release; distribution unlimited
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The research described in this report was sponsored by the United States Air Force under Contract FA7014-06-C-0001. Further information may be obtained from the Strategic Planning Division, Directorate of Plans, Hq USAF.
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Preface
For over 60 years, the present-day Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site (AMOS) has provided the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) with space situational awareness capabilities from the island of Maui, Hawaii. AMOS is comprised of two separate facilities: the Maui Space Surveillance Complex (MSSC) and the Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC). The MSSC is located on the top of the Haleakala volcano and is operated by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). MSSC has three large (meter-class) optical telescopes that were designed to provide situational awareness for missile tests and orbiting man-made objects. Together, these telescopes provide the Air Force with a unique capability to support space situational awareness missions. MHPCC is located in Kihei and is one of the five DoD Supercomputing Resource Centers. MHPCC provides computational resources, high-speed communications infrastructure, and support services to MSSC. Although they are separate facilities, MHPCC and MSSC are often referred to together as AMOS, due to a strong collaboration that exists between them.1
Since its inception, AMOS has evolved to meet emerging challenges and new missions. It is important for present-day decisionmakers to understand how AMOS has changed over time as they assess its role for future missions. To this end, this document contains an annotated timeline of AMOS from its origin in 1951 to the present day (2012). It is presented here to provide background for future researchers and strategic planners who need to understand the context and background of the site’s history.
This timeline was created as part of a larger fiscal year 2012 study, “Assessing Current/Future Customers for the Maui Space Surveillance Site,” which was designed to assess AMOS’s long-term sustainability. In support of the main research objectives, RAND compiled a thorough listing of key events that helped shape the modern-day manifestation of AMOS, and these events are listed in the timeline contained in this document.
This research was sponsored by Dr. David Hardy, Director, Directed Energy Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/RD). The study was performed within the Force Modernization and Employment Program of RAND Project AIR
1 According to discussions with ARFL Det 15 staff, the AMOS acronym has changed several times over the course of its history. The site opened in 1966 as the ARPA Midcourse Observation Station (AMOS) but was also referred to as the ARPA Midcourse Optical Station (AMOS) interchangeably from its inception until 1977 when the Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) took over the site and renamed it the Air Force Maui Optical Station (AMOS). In 1993, when MHPCC opened, the “S” changed from “Station” to “Supercomputing Site,” making AMOS the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site. Notably, with this change, the site no longer referred only to the optical station atop Haleakala but more broadly to both MSSC and MHPCC.
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FORCE. It should be of interest to policymakers and researchers working in space control, space situational awareness, and national DoD optical facilities.
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Air Force’s federally funded research and development center for studies and analyses. PAF provides the Air Force with independent analyses of policy alternatives affecting the development, employment, combat readiness, and support of current and future air, space, and cyber forces. Research is conducted in four programs: Force Modernization and Employment; Manpower, Personnel, and Training; Resource Management; and Strategy and Doctrine.
Additional information about PAF is available on our website: http://www.rand.org/paf/
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Contents
Preface ............................................................................................................................................ iii Summary ....................................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... ix Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................. xi A Sixty-Year Timeline of the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site (AMOS) .......... 1 References ..................................................................................................................................... 25 Wall Chart Timeline ..................................................................................................................... 32
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Summary
This document contains a timeline of key events in the history of the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site (AMOS). AMOS is located on the island of Maui, Hawaii, and is comprised of two physically separate facilities: the Maui Space Surveillance Complex (MSSC) located on the top of the Haleakala volcano and the Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC) located in Kihei. The events contained in this document focus primarily on the MSSC, but MHPCC has always maintained a strong collaboration with the MSSC, so we have included several events associated with MHPCC.
The MSSC1 is operated by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) on land leased from the University of Hawaii. MSSC provides electro-optical imagery for space situational awareness on man-made objects in low Earth and geosynchronous orbits. The complex has three large optical telescopes—a dual 1.2-meter diameter refractive telescope, a single 1.6-meter diameter reflective telescope, and a 3.67-meter telescope that is the largest optical aperture in the Department of Defense (DoD). Together, these three telescopes provide the Air Force with a unique capability for high-resolution, visible and infrared wavelength imagery of space objects over the Pacific Ocean.
MSSC was first imagined as an optical research observatory in the early 1950s. Since then, the site’s mission, management structure, and operational partners have changed several times to accommodate the contemporary challenges and research tools. This timeline is an attempt to document these historical changes. This history was originally researched for a RAND project on MSSC that was sponsored by AFRL/RD. In the process of performing this project, we found that there was no definitive source that provided a complete history of the site.
The purpose of this document is not to be a definitive history, but to provide a source more thorough than what is currently available to the public. We are publishing this timeline with the hope that it will be helpful to researchers and policymakers who can use this information to inform future decisions about the U.S. space surveillance architecture.
The research for this timeline was based on open source articles, historical documents, references within the scientific literature, and discussions with current and former site personnel. All of the timeline’s entries have a supporting bibliographic entry that details the source for each entry.
1 In this document, we make a distinction between the Maui Space Surveillance Site (MSSS) and the MSSC. MSSS refers to a specific building within the observatory that houses the 1.2-meter, the 1.6-meter, and the Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) telescopes. MSSC refers to AFRL’s entire facility on the mountaintop. The MSSC also includes the 3.6-meter Advanced Electro-Optical System (AEOS), which is housed in a separate building from the MSSS. Because of this distinction, the term MSSC did not exist prior to the construction of AEOS in the 1990s.
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The timeline is provided in both tabular and wall chart formats. The tabular form will likely be the most convenient for viewing the data using conventional display formats, such as letter-sized paper or computer screens. However, we chose to also include the full-size wall chart for readers who have access to large-format printing capabilities. Readers can also view the wall chart on a large computer screen, using the scroll bar to move from one section of the timeline to the next. The wall chart can be found at the end of this document.
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Acknowledgments
We are very grateful for our U.S. Air Force sponsors, Dr. David Hardy and Col Scott Maethner (AFRL/RD), who were supportive of this work from the beginning.
This research would not have been as successful without the enthusiastic help and guidance that we received from a number of people who have a connection to the site: Maj Gen (ret) Curt Bedke, Lt Col Michael Harvey, Mr. Paul Kervin, Dr. Keith Knox, Dr. Chuck Matson, Dr. Earl Spillar, Dr. Robert L. Johnson, Ms. Mo Monsalve, Dr. Tony Pensa, Dr. Bob Peterkin, Maj James Phillips, Col Joe Romero, Ms. Sandy Ryan, Maj James Slear, Mr. Dan Theil, Ms. Lisa Thompson, Ms. Virginia Wright, Dr. Darryl Greenwood, Dr. Kelly Hammett, Mr. Stan Czyzak, Mr. Mark Bolden, and Mr. Scott Hunt.
Ms. Laura Ulibarri graciously offered to make a number of her staff available to us in this endeavor, and we are thankful that she was so supportive of our research. Ms. Lori Bragg helped coordinate and distribute several early versions of the timeline to solicit comments and suggestions from existing MSSC personnel, in addition to providing her own expertise on the site’s history. Dr. Bob Duffner provided us with several useful references and contacts, and his book The Adaptive Optics Revolution: A History was an important starting point for this research.
Don Forrester and Gary Mcleod provided careful reviews of an early draft, and their comments helped make this timeline more complete and easier to read. Finally, Dr. Joseph Janni provided detailed feedback on several iterations of the timeline, and we are very grateful for all of the time and effort that he was willing to contribute to this project.
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Abbreviations
AEOS Advanced Electro-Optical System ACE Atmospheric Compensation Experiment ADCOM Air Defense Command ADONIS AMOS Daytime Optical Near-Infrared Imaging System AERL Avco Everett Research Lab AFB Air Force Base AFMC Air Force Materiel Command AFOSR Air Force Office of Scientific Research AFRL Air Force Research Laboratory AFRL/DE Air Force Research Laboratory/Directed Energy (historical) AFRL/RD Air Force Research Laboratory/Directed Energy (current) AFSC Air Force Systems Command AFSPC Air Force Space Command AFWL Air Force Weapons Laboratory AMOS Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site (1993–
present) AMTA Advanced Multicolor Tracker for AMOS ARPA Advanced Research Projects Agency ASRC Atmospheric Sciences Research Center CCD charge-coupled device CIC Combined Intelligence Center CIS compensated imaging system CMCM critical measurements and countermeasures DARPA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency DEBI Directed Energy Beam Improvement DIAL differential absorption light detection and ranging DMSP Defense Meteorological Satellite Program DoD Department of Defense DSRC DoD Supercomputing Resource Center GBFELTIE Ground-Based Free Electron Laser Technology Integration
Experiment GEOS-C Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite-C GEODSS Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance GRB gamma ray burst HANDS high accuracy network determination system HI-CLASS High Performance CO2 Laser Radar Surveillance Sensor HiVIS High-Resolution Visible and Infrared Spectrograph HYSWAC hybrid small waterplane area craft
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HTTA Hawaii Technology Trade Association ICBM intercontinental ballistic missile IfA Institute for Astronomy IMAGE Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration IOC initial operational capability JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory JSpOC Joint Space Operations Center LBD laser beam detector LIDAR light detection and ranging LLTV low-light level television LURE Lunar Ranging Experiment LWIR long-wave infrared MauiMALT Maui Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere MCAT Meter-Class Acquisition Telescope MDA Missile Defense Agency MFBD multi-frame blind deconvolution MHPCC Maui High Performance Computing Center MIT/LL Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Lincoln Laboratory MOTIF Maui Optical Tracking and Identification Facility MSSC Maui Space Surveillance Complex MSSS Maui Space Surveillance Site NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASIC National Air and Space Intelligence Center NEAT Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking NSF National Science Foundation NRC National Research Council O&M operations and maintenance OCS Observatory Control System Pan-STARRS Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System PCID Physically Constrained Iterative Deconvolution PHIAT Propulsion High Impact Avionics Technology PL Phillips Laboratory R&D research and development RADC Rome Air Development Center RAILE Retro-Assisted Imaging Laser Experiment RV reentry vehicle SAC Strategic Air Command SATKA Surveillance, Acquisition, Targeting and Kill Assessment SBIR Small Business Innovation Research SDIO Strategic Defense Initiative Organization SECAF Secretary of the Air Force SOI space object identification
xiii
SOR Starfire Optical Range SSA space situational awareness SSN Space Surveillance Network SWAT Short-Wavelength Adaptive Techniques TAOS Technology for Autonomous Operational Survivability UH University of Hawaii UM University of Michigan UNM University of New Mexico USAF U.S. Air Force USSPACECOM U.S. Space Command USSTRATCOM U.S. Strategic Command
1
A Sixty-Year Timeline of the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site (AMOS)
Start End Event Category Source 1951 Grote Reber recognizes the scientific merit and practicality
of Haleakala as an optical site. Programs and Technology Institute for Astronomy, 2013a
Apr 1955
Dr. Walter R. Steiger from the University of Hawaii (UH) Department of Physics conducts a site survey study near the summit of Haleakala to determine the suitability of the location for a solar observatory.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Institute for Astronomy, 2013a
1956 Dr. Whipple from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory selects Haleakala as one of the twelve sites for its global network of twelve Baker-Nunn telescope/camera systems dedicated to tracking the Vanguard satellite. At his request, Dr. Mees, former vice president for research at the Eastman Kodak Company, provides financial support to UH to build a satellite tracking station atop Haleakala.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Potter, 1998
Jul 11 1956
Prior to the establishment of the optical station, the U.S. Army begins six-month star tracking project at Haleakala.
Programs and Technology Ainsworth, 2012
Jun 22 1957
Haleakala takes on important International Geophysical Year role with satellite tracking.
Programs and Technology Ainsworth, 2012
Jul 01 1957
UH’s satellite tracking facility is ready. It uses a meteor-tracking Schmidt camera until the Baker-Nunn telescope arrives.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Institute for Astronomy, 2013b
Oct 04 1957
Sputnik launch provides motivation for the establishment of a satellite tracking system in Hawaii.
Political Institute for Astronomy, 2013a
1958 The Baker-Nunn telescope arrives and is installed. These large telescopic cameras, based on the Schmidt telescope, are designed specifically to provide space object tracking information on satellites.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Africano et al., 2001
May 07 1958
Tracking camera photographs Sputnik II. Programs and Technology Ainsworth, 2012
Apr 20 1960
Tracking camera photographs Tiros I weather satellite. Programs and Technology Ainsworth, 2012
Jun 25 1960
Prior to the establishment of the optical station, the Army launches Project Betty satellite tracking project at Puunene.
Programs and Technology Ainsworth, 2012
Aug 17 1960
Tracking camera photographs Echo I. Programs and Technology Ainsworth, 2012
2
Start End Event Category Source Aug 20 1960
Haleakala observers are first to obtain photo of Discoverer XIV beacon.
Programs and Technology Ainsworth, 2012
1961 An Executive Order by Governor William Quinn establishes the "Haleakala High Altitude Observatory Site," sometimes referred to as Science City, on the summit of Haleakala.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Institute for Astronomy, 2013a
1961 R. Zirkind of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) proposes the ARPA Midcourse Observation Station (AMOS) as an astronomical-quality observatory for obtaining precise measurements and images of reentry bodies and decoys, satellites, and other space objects in the infrared and visible spectrum. During its early years, it was interchangeably referred to as the ARPA Midcourse Optical Station.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Reed et al., 1990
1961 Dr. J. Ruina, ARPA Director at the time, gives his approval for the project, on the condition that the astronomical community agreed it was a good idea, and would actually do research with AMOS.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Reed et al., 1990
1961 Several prominent astronomers meet at Harvard's Smithsonian Optical Observatory and agree that AMOS's planned infrared observing capabilities and its proposed location farther south of the existing U.S. observatories would be beneficial to the astronomical community.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Reed et al., 1990
June 1961
ARPA Order 236 is set up with the University of Michigan (UM). Amendment No. 2 to this order would formally begin the AMOS effort by allocating $8.3 million to UM for telescope design, construction, and eventual operation of the observatory. The ARPA order amendment stated the objectives of AMOS as follows: identification and signature of space objects, establishment of an active program to advance the state of the art of infrared technology and high-resolution imagery, and establishment of a research program in geophysical and astrophysics including the astronomical community.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Reed et al., 1990
1963 UM completes the design of the 1.2-m twin telescopes, one mainly for tracking and the other for special observations, and a 1.6-m telescope to be used predominately for work in the visible spectrum.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Reed et al., 1990
1963 The Army Corps of Engineers begins Phase I of the construction of AMOS atop Haleakala, using land leased from UH at no cost. The Corps constructs all the facilities except for the telescopes and domes.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Reed et al., 1990; Ulibarri and Harvey, 2012
3
Start End Event Category Source Feb 05 1964
UM begins $5 million observatory. Construction/Hardware Updates
Ainsworth, 2012
Feb 08 1964
Groundbreaking set for UM project. Construction/Hardware Updates
Ainsworth, 2012
1965 AMOS satellite tracking facility achieves first light. Programs and Technology “Haleakala to Hubble?” 2000 Jan 27 1965
The Maui News recognizes AMOS as a first-class institution.
Programs and Technology Ainsworth, 2012
Aug 1966
AMOS opens as ARPA’s Midcourse Optical Observatory Station to collect optical measurements on intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base (AFB), California, to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific. At the time, its 1.6-m telescope is one of the world’s ten largest astronomical telescopes.
Programs and Technology Duffner, 2009
Nov 02 1966
UM observatory head office moves from Kahului to Wailuku.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Ainsworth, 2012
1967 ARPA designates AMOS site for Western Test Range midcourse observations, with UM conducting operations and maintenance (O&M). About 40 scientists, engineers, and technicians work for UM, about half traveling to the summit on any given day.
Site Management National Science Foundation, 2009
1967 UH establishes the Institute for Astronomy (IfA). Its faculty and staff are involved in astronomy education and in the development and management of the observatories on Haleakala.
Programs and Technology Institute for Astronomy, 2013a
1969 1.2-m twin telescopes become operational for missile launches and space surveillance.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, undated
1969 1.6-m telescope becomes operational for missile launches and space surveillance.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, undated
1969 ARPA begins to allow use of facility to outside visiting customers.
Support Duffner, undated
1969 Avco Everett Research Lab (AERL) takes over the technical direction and Lockheed Martin is awarded the O&M contract.
Site Management Reed et al., 1990
1969 Mission eventually evolves into strategic missile observations and space surveillance.
Programs and Technology Duffner, undated
1969 1974 AMOS Phase II, during which time the stated goal is to provide a more space-oriented role for AMOS’s capabilities.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Hartogensis, 1978
May 21 1969
UM relinquishes O&M management of AMOS. Site Management Ainsworth, 2012
Jun 21 1969
Lockheed Corporation takes over O&M management of AMOS.
Site Management Ainsworth, 2012
4
Start End Event Category Source Jun 28 1969
Lockheed Corporation runs AMOS with AERL from Wailuku office.
Site Management Ainsworth, 2012
Jan 06 1972
Lockheed Corporation moves offices to Puunene Hospital. Site Management Ainsworth, 2012
1974 UH builds the Lunar Ranging Experiment (LURE) Observatory atop Haleakala. LURE utilizes a high-powered pulsed laser to obtain distance measurements to five reflector arrays left on the Moon by three Apollo missions and two Russian Federation robot spacecraft.
Construction/Hardware Updates
University of Hawaii, 2013
Nov 01 1974
Dec 31 1977
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), through executive agents in the Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO), contracts with the AERL to conduct Phase III operations at AMOS. This phase concentrates heavily on refinement and optimization of existing systems in addition to installation of new and/or modified hardware and software.
Programs and Technology Hartogensis, 1978
1975 0.6-m Laser Beam Director (LBD) telescope is installed. Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, undated
1975 AERL takes over all contracts (two of three site facilities), while AMOS is controlled by DARPA, but Rome Air Development Center (RADC) is the “Executive Agent” for DARPA.
Site Management Duffner, 2002
1975 Visiting Experimenter Program formalized and initiated. Support Duffner, undated Jan 1975
1977 AMOS Phase III. Construction/Hardware Updates
Hartogensis, 1978
1977 AMOS hosts operational adaptive optics silicon-on-insulator imaging system (AF/RADC).
Programs and Technology Ulibarri, 2011
1977 Strategic Air Command (SAC) takes operational control of the twin 1.2-m telescopes and the site is renamed the Air Force Maui Optical Station (AMOS).
Site Management Ulibarri and Harvey, 2012
1977 Transition of 1.2-m telescope to SAC and Air Defense Command (ADCOM).
Site Management Duffner, undated
1977 Transition of the 1.2-m mount to operational space object identification (SOI) data collection.
Programs and Technology Duffner, undated
1978 AMOS begins routine adaptive optics imaging for space situational awareness (SSA), resulting from the DARPA program for the compensated imaging system (CIS) on the 1.6-m telescope.
Programs and Technology Ulibarri, 2011
1978 Real-time handoff of ballistic targets to an over-the-horizon sensor using precision range and angles measurements.
Programs and Technology Marek, 2001
5
Start End Event Category Source Jun 1979
AMOS’s twin infrared 1.2-m telescopes and associated systems become part of the Air Force Space Track Network, which is renamed the Maui Optical Tracking and Identification Facility (MOTIF).
Site Management Reed et al., 1990
Oct 1979
MOTIF’s paired 1.2-m telescopes become dedicated Space Surveillance Network (SSN) sensors, providing satellite imaging, tracking, and infrared signature data down to +19th magnitude.
Programs and Technology Jane’s, 2007
1980 Construction begins on Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance System (GEODSS). Three new domes and approximately 10,000 square feet of office and laboratory space on the south side are built.
Construction/Hardware Updates
National Science Foundation, 2009
1981 SAC runs MOTIF while RADC is DARPA’s agent for all AMOS activities/facilities.
Site Management Duffner, 2002
1982 Atmospheric Compensation Experiment (ACE) Phase I experiments conducted at AMOS demonstrate atmospheric compensation for a beam propagating along a 150-m horizontal path (with integrated turbulence equal to that for vertical propagation through the entire atmosphere). These experiments serve as a predecessor to modern adaptive optics.
Programs and Technology Greenwood, 1992; AFRL Det 15, 2012f
1982 GEODSS system achieves initial operational capability (IOC), making it one of three operational sites in the world performing ground-based optical tracking of space objects. It employs about 15 O&M personnel.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, undated
1982 Installation of CIS on the 1.6-m telescope, the first operational application of adaptive optics.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, undated
1982 World’s first adaptive optics CIS on line at AMOS and operational for over ten years. It provides ongoing support to National Technical Means, National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC), and Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC).
Programs and Technology Ulibarri, 2011
Sep 1982
Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), headquartered at Peterson, is established. Advanced Electro-Optical System (AEOS) telescope would later provide near-real-time imaging to support this operational unit.
Site Management Duffner, 2009
1983 In Phase II ACE experiments, Maui site personnel perform atmospheric compensation of a laser beam propagating to a small aircraft flying above the site.
Programs and Technology Greenwood, 1992; AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Dec 1983
Development of RADC document for the acquisition of AMOS.
Site Management Duffner, 2002
1984 The site transitions from DARPA to the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and is assigned to RADC.
Site Management Reed et al., 1990
6
Start End Event Category Source Jun 10 1984
After test failures with the first three flight tests, the fourth and final test of the Homing Overlay Experiment is successful, intercepting the Minuteman reentry vehicle (RV) with a closing speed of about 6.1 km/s at an altitude of more than 160 km. AMOS supported the Homing Overlay Experiment through acquisition and tracking with the 1.2-m Advanced Multicolor Tracker for AMOS (AMTA) system.
Programs and Technology Marek, 2001
1985 AMOS images shuttle to look for missing tiles. This is the first ever anomaly resolution using resolved imagery.
Public Good/Discoveries AFRL Det 15, 2012b
1985 AMOS signatures used to diagnose problems on Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) with anomaly resolution using SOI photometry.
Support AFRL Det 15, 2012b
1985 First daylight image of a satellite by AMOS using a low-light level television (LLTV) sensor on the 1.6-m telescope. This leads to a specialized camera on the 1.2-m telescope built by DFM Engineering.
Programs and Technology AFRL Det 15, 2012b
1985 World’s first outgoing beam compensation to space targets conducted at AMOS (Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Lincoln Laboratory [MIT/LL] tests to Space Shuttle 51G, Sandia sounding rockets to 600 km).
Programs and Technology Ulibarri, 2011
Sep 23 1985
U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM), for which AEOS later provides near-real-time imaging support, is established.
Site Management Duffner, 2009
Apr 1986
RADC decides to upgrade telescopes at AMOS. Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
Sep 1986
RADC makes a proposal for a world-class 4-m telescope at Maui, to be called the AMOS Large Optical Facility Test bed.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
Oct 1986
Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) rejects RADC’s proposal for a new telescope at Maui mainly because of its projected costs.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
1987 1988 AMOS participates in Surveillance, Acquisition, Targeting, and Kill Assessment (SATKA) Integrated Experiments, using the 1.2-m telescope and long-wave infrared (LWIR) AMTA sensor.
Programs and Technology Marek, 2001
1988 0.8-m Beam Director Tracker installed to support SDIO’s Relay Mirror Experiment.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, undated
1988 AFSPC becomes host organization of AMOS and AFSC becomes a tenant operating its own R&D resources.
Site Management Ulibarri and Harvey, 2012
1988 1991 Short-Wavelength Adaptive Techniques (SWAT) experiments performed with the 50-cm laser beam director.
Programs and Technology Greenwood, 1992
7
Start End Event Category Source Aug 1988
World’s first synthetic beacon adaptive optics image compensated at AMOS by MIT/LL with Air Force/RADC/AMOS under SDIO sponsorship (using sodium layer).
Public Good/Discoveries Ulibarri, 2011
Jul 1989
RADC proposes a less costly plan for an $18 million telescope, AEOS, with lightweight optics and other cost-saving technologies. It also proposes that the cost of AEOS be shared by SDIO, AFSPC, and the Air Force’s antisatellite planning group.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
1990 A congressional delegation led by Hawaiian-elected officials travels to Maui to review the AEOS proposal and to inspect the Haleakala site.
Political Duffner, 2009
1990 Discussions begin on consolidating all AFSC optical sites under Phillips Laboratory (PL).
Site Management Phillips Research Site, undated
1990 John Stanley of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) provides funding in the early 90s to AMOS in support of orbital debris observations.
Programs and Technology AFRL Det 15, 2012g
1990 The Relay Mirror Experiment is conducted; it is the first successful relay of a laser from a ground station to an orbiting relay mirror and back.
Programs and Technology Duffner, undated
Jan 1990
RADC briefs its headquarters, the Electronic Systems Division at Hanscom AFB near Boston, which supports its July 1989 proposal for a less costly AEOS telescope as well as its cost-sharing plan.
Political Duffner, 2009
Feb 1990
Joint funding backed by AFSPC, SDIO, and an antisatellite planning group falls through due to changing priorities and budgetary constraints.
Political Duffner, 2009
Feb 1990
Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii revives AEOS program by gathering support for the program in the Senate.
Political Duffner, 2009
Mar 1990
AMOS contractors AERL and Textron Defense Systems outline advantages of AEOS in a paper addressing costs, requirements, missions, and users.
Political Duffner, 2009
Jun 1990
Management of the Maui site shifts from RADC to the Air Force Weapons Laboratory (AFWL) at Kirtland AFB.
Site Management Duffner, 2009
Oct 1990
Rockwell Power Systems begin five-year contract to operate MOTIF and AMOS.
Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012b; AFRL Det 15, 2012d
Nov 1990
Col John Otten, Commander of AFWL, forms a small advisory team to prepare specifications for the AEOS telescope, spelling out pre-contractual work to be completed before money is committed for contracts to design and build the telescope.
Site Management Duffner, 2009
Dec 13 1990
PL at Kirtland AFB is established as one of the four new labs in the Air Force.
Programs and Technology Duffner, 2009
8
Start End Event Category Source 1991 Department of Defense (DoD) Appropriations Act of 1991
allocated $14.95 million over two years to start the acquisition of a 4-m telescope, moving AEOS from the debate phase to the action phase.
Political Duffner, 2009
1991 DFM Engineering builds specialized camera on 1.2-m telescope, which is financed entirely by AFSPC. This is the first charge-coupled device (CCD) camera at AMOS. It replaces film camera for uncompensated imaging.
Construction/Hardware Updates
AFRL Det 15, 2012b
1991 The AEOS review committee learns about a 25,000-pound Zerodur mirror blank manufactured for the Army’s Ground-Based Free Electron Laser Technology Integration Experiment (GBFELTIE) but never put into use, and considers its use for AEOS.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009; Janni, 2012
Jan 01 1991
Technical direction of the AMOS site transferred from Rome Laboratories (formerly RADC) to PL.
Site Management Phillips Research Site, 1994
Jan 1991
The AEOS advisory team headed by Capt Rich Miller decides that AEOS would support the Air Force’s space surveillance missions and might conduct research into a laser antisatellite weapon but would not carry it through to operational use.
Programs and Technology Duffner, 2009; Janni, 2012
Mar 1991
Lt Rich Elder replaces Miller as head of the AEOS review team.
Site Management Duffner, 2009
Mar 1991
The Retro-Assisted Imaging Laser Experiment (RAILE) successfully produces resolved imagery of the four corner cubes on the Relay Mirror Experiment satellite, employing an atmospheric-cancelling three laser beam synthetic aperture technique.
Programs and Technology AFRL Det 15, 2012e
May 1991
AMOS site designated as the Air Force’s Center of Excellence for Imaging Research.
Programs and Technology Phillips Research Site, 1994
May 1991
Lt Rich Elder and Mr. Jim Mayo visit Schott Glass Works representatives in Germany to examine its 25,000-pound Zerodur mirror and determine the necessary modifications that would have to be made in order for it to fit the AEOS.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
May 1991
USAF transfers operational control of the AMOS facility from RADC to PL via the Program Action Directive for Strategic Optical Imaging Technology.
Site Management Phillips Research Site, undated
Aug 1991
Phillips Laboratory hosts a pre-proposal conference at Kirtland AFB to inform contract bidders about the AEOS program and status. Fifteen prospective vendors attend.
Programs and Technology Duffner, 2009
Oct 1991
Approval is granted for a foundation and pier to support an 8-m telescope base. The rest of the facility (azimuth base and mounting ring, azimuth yoke base, inner gimbal, dome roof, and walls) was built for a 3.67-m telescope.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
9
Start End Event Category Source Dec 1991
Plans under way to ship the cut mirror blank from Germany to the United States.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
Dec 13 1991
The Air Force awards a $19.3 million dollar contract to Contraves USA to build the AEOS 3.67-m telescope.
Site Management Duffner, 2009
May 1992
The Air Force approves Contraves’s telescope design during a preliminary design review.
Programs and Technology Duffner, 2009
May 07 1992
Senator Inouye writes a letter to Secretary of the Air Force (SECAF) recommending a larger facility to house the original 3.67-m telescope.
Political Phillips Research Site, undated
Jun 11 1992
AEOS cost estimate is $63.9 million for an 8-m base and $58.9 million for a 3.67-m base.
Programs and Technology Air Force Research Laboratory, AEOS Telescope, cost estimates, undated
Nov 1992
Installation of Propulsion High Impact Avionics Technology (PHIAT), the first operational SSA imaging system that improved performance based on post-detection image processing, is complete.
Construction/Hardware Updates
AFRL Det 15, 2012g
1993 AMOS develops an automated video object detection system using a Datacube MaxVideo20 image processing system and a SPARCstation10 workstation for statistical post-processing for the Air Force Orbital Debris Measurements Program.
Programs and Technology Africano et al., 2001
1993 Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC) is established to provide high-performance computing capabilities to the observatory site as a distributed center.
Programs and Technology Ulibarri and Harvey, 2012
1993 Preliminary MHPCC costs estimated at $21 million. Programs and Technology Phillips Research Site, 1994 Jan 21 1993
Workshop held to develop an instrumentation plan for atmospheric science research at AEOS.
Programs and Technology Phillips Research Site, 1994
Jun 1993
The Air Force approves Contraves’s telescope design during a critical design review.
Programs and Technology Duffner, 2009
Jun 1993
Work begins on manufacturing hardware components for the AEOS telescope.
Programs and Technology Duffner, 2009
Sep 1993
DoD awards the University of New Mexico (UNM) a $10 million per year “cooperative agreement” to operate the MHPCC through fiscal year 2000.
Site Management Duffner, undated
Dec 1993
Dr. John R. Kenemuth, an optics expert from PL, becomes the technical director of AEOS.
Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012j
1994 1.6-m dome is automated. Construction/Hardware Updates
AFRL Det 15, 2012b
1994 AMOS (Africano, Medrano, Nishimoto) captures the only 3-6 micron images of Comet Shoemaker-Levy impacting Jupiter.
Public Good/Discoveries AFRL Det 15, 2012b
10
Start End Event Category Source 1994 Funds dedicated to support High Performance CO2 Laser
Radar Surveillance Sensor (HI-CLASS) field tests at AMOS and upgrade sensors to include rapid wavelength tunability.
Programs and Technology Duffner, Robert, undated
1994 Lt Col Jim McNally, from PL, becomes AEOS program manager.
Site Management Duffner, 2009
1994 MHPCC office opens. Construction/Hardware Updates
AFRL Det 15, 2012b
1994 Researchers make a major technical breakthrough at Maui with the design, development, and deployment of the AMOS Daytime Optical Near-Infrared Imaging System (ADONIS), which allows the site to provide Air Force customers with high-resolution post-processed images in minutes instead of hours.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
Jan 1994
Completion of Phase 0 of HI-CLASS, the initial system development and check out. This includes a mission analysis and the establishment of performance requirements.
Programs and Technology Mosley et al., 1998
Jul 1994
The LBD at AMOS undergoes upgrades in support of HI-CLASS.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, undated
Jul 1994
Two 20-gigaFLOPS machines are added to MHPCC. Construction/Hardware Updates
Phillips Research Site, 1994
Aug 1994
HI-CLASS Phase I tests are completed, revealing that the system exceeded all specifications.
Programs and Technology Duffner, undated
Aug 22 1994
PL awards a $15 million, three-year contract to Hughes Danbury Optical Systems to design and build the adaptive optics system.
Site Management Duffner, 2009
Aug 26 1994
The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources authorizes additional construction at the top of Haleakala.
Political Duffner, 2009
Aug 29 1994
The Army Corps of Engineers issues a contract for $19 million to Kiewit Pacific Inc. of Honolulu to construct the 41,000 square feet AEOS facility.
Site Management Duffner, 2009
Sep 1994
HI-CLASS Phase I system is installed at the Maui site. Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, undated
Dec 1994
First Observatory Control System (OCS) compliant sensor implemented on the 1.6-m telescope.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Oder, undated
1995 AEOS retains its R&D mission for Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), while its AFSPC mission evolves into three main areas: space intelligence, space tracking, and space control.
Programs and Technology AFRL Det 15, 2012b
1995 Image data protection system is delivered and installed at USSPACECOM Combined Intelligence Center (CIC).
Construction/Hardware Updates
AFRL Det 15, 2012b
1995 Transition of all telescopes to AFSPC. Site Management Duffner, undated
11
Start End Event Category Source 1995 AMOS and MOTIF are collectively renamed Maui Space
Surveillance Site (MSSS). Site Management Duffner, undated
Jan 1995
Construction begins on the facility foundation and walls to the Coudé room at AEOS facility.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Oder, undated
Jan 1995
Prototype mount control system implemented on the 1.6-m telescope.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, undated
Feb 1995
AEOS tracker implemented on the 1.6-m telescope. Construction/Hardware Updates
Oder, undated
Apr 15 1995
Senator Inouye presides over the AEOS groundbreaking ceremony that officially signifies the start of the construction.
Political Duffner, 2009
May 1995
Data from LURE allows scientists to determine the distance between the Earth and the moon to an accuracy of less than 2.0 centimeters.
Public Good/Discoveries Institute for Astronomy, 2013a
May 1995
Experiments conducted using the HI-CLASS CO2 from AMOS (10,000 ft. mean sea level) to sea level over a slant range of 21.3 km to emulate the airborne Differential Absorption Light Detection and Ranging (DIAL) configuration eventually flown on the Argus C-135 aircraft for the Laser Airborne Remote Sensing (LARS) program.
Public Good/Discoveries AFRL Det 15, 2012e
Jul 11 1995
A 12-hour concrete pour occurs for the first section of the AEOS telescope pedestal.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, undated
Aug 1995
LI-COR Biosciences awarded the radiometer/photometer contract to Mission Research Corporation for one of the three mission sensors for AEOS with delivery set for March 1997.
Site Management Duffner, undated
Sep 1995
Hughes Aircraft Company awarded LWIR imager contract for one of three AEOS mission sensors with delivery set for December 1997.
Site Management Duffner, undated
Nov 1995
1998 NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) system in operation at GEODSS.
Programs and Technology AFRL Det 15, 2012f
1996 AEOS requests funding of $17.5 million. Political Oder, undated 1996 ADONIS is operational at the site, extending imaging
capabilities to 24 hours daily. Construction/Hardware
Updates Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, 1995; AFRL Det 15, 2012e
1996 AMOS participates in Technology for Autonomous Operational Survivability (TAOS) satellite experiment.
Programs and Technology Air Force Research Laboratory, 1995
Feb 1996
HI-CLASS Phase II, the system oscillator and receiver-process, installed at MSSS.
Construction/Hardware Updates
AFRL Det 15, 2012e
Feb 27 1996
$1 million is withheld from original funding amount AEOS requests.
Political Oder, undated
12
Start End Event Category Source Apr 06 1996
First returns from a cooperative satellite, the Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite-C (GEOS-C), are collected.
Programs and Technology Mosley, 1998
Sep 03 1996
Lt Col Peter D. Keish becomes AEOS program manager. Programs and Technology Oder, undated
Oct 1996
Approximately 95 percent of the work on AEOS is complete.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Oder, undated
Nov 1996
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to develop ground weather prediction system.
Site Management Oder, undated
Dec 18 1996
Contraves completes factory testing of AEOS telescope at its plant in Pennsylvania.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
1997 Maj Chris Washer becomes new AEOS Program Manager.
Site Management Oder, undated
1997 Maj Dave Richards appointed Branch Chief. Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012j 1997 The Raven small telescope team, led by Paul Kervin,
submits a Raven proposal to the Air Force Space Battle lab.
Site Management Duffner, undated
Jan 1997
Integration of Phase III of HI-CLASS at MSSS complete. Programs and Technology Mosley et al., 1998
Feb 03 1997
The AEOS mirror receives its reflective coating, a 100-nanometer layer of aluminum weighing only 3 grams, at Kitt Peak.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
Feb 07 1997
AEOS mirror ships to Vancouver, Washington. Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
Mar 1997
AEOS telescope arrives in Maui. Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
Apr 1997
Kenemuth moves from Albuquerque, NM, to Maui to work with Hughes Danbury on integrating the adaptive optics system with the telescope.
Site Management Duffner, 2009
Apr 01 1997
Mar 31 2000
Maj Gen Richard R. Paul serves as Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Commander.
Site Management Wikipedia, 2011
Apr 07 1997
AEOS’s base put in place inside its dome. Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
Apr 16 1997
AEOS’s primary mirror put in place inside its dome. Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
Apr 22 1997
AEOS’s truss and gimbal put in place inside its dome. Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
Apr 22 1997
Fourth heavy lift brings the trunnion, truss, and head ring to the new facility into AEOS.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Oder, undated
Apr 22 1997
Installation of the AEOS telescope is complete. Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
May 1997
COMSAT RSI, the dome contractor, finds the cause of problems in raising and lowering the dome and provides the actuator replacement parts needed to complete the fix.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Oder, undated
13
Start End Event Category Source Jun 30 1997
AEOS site is complete. Construction/Hardware Updates
Oder, undated
Jul 1997
AEOS surpasses the Starfire telescope as DoD’s largest telescope.
Programs and Technology Duffner, 2009
Jul 05 1997
AEOS dedication held. Political Duffner, 2009
Sep 26 1997
AEOS attains its first light image of a space object, the Ring Nebula, demonstrating its high-quality imaging capability.
Public Good/Discoveries Oder, undated
Oct 16 1997
Oceanit Laboratories, an AEOS contractor, awarded Tibbets Award for excellence in small business at White House ceremony.
Site Management Oder, undated
Oct 31 1997
Apr 03 2003
Dr. R. Earl Good serves as the Air Force Research Laboratory/Directed Energy (AFRL/DE) Director.
Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012c
1998 A fiber optic link is put in place between the Maui Space Surveillance Complex (MSSC) and MHPCC to enable fast data transfer between the imaging sensors at the MSSC and the high-speed computers at MHPCC.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
1998 AMOS operational support for the John Glenn STS-95 mission shuttle damage assessment.
Public Good/Discoveries Ulibarri, 2011
1998 Experiments confirm that AEOS’s five dead actuators minimally impact its performance.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
1998 MHPCC ranked among the top 100 most powerful supercomputer sites in the world.
Programs and Technology Dongarra, 1998
1998 The Director of Defense Research and Engineering selects MHPCC as one of four distributed centers to receive approximately $16 million in funding over two years.
Site Management “US Expands its High-Performance Computing,” 1998
1998 Transition of MHPCC from Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC) to DoD Supercomputing Resource Center (DSRC).
Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012b
Apr 1998
AEOS is fully operational. Construction/Hardware Updates
Air Force Research Laboratory, AMOS Overview, undated
May 1998
AEOS team anticipated the completion and delivery of the LWIR system.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Oder, undated
Oct 1998
Air Force watchers from AFRL Det 5 in Maui track and photograph images of the Space Shuttle Discovery after receiving readings that an exterior door had either opened or fallen off.
Support Greeley, 2001
Oct 1998
NASA/AFSPC Near-Earth Object Working Group recommends NASA/JPL NEAT program be moved to 1.2-m B37 telescope.
Programs and Technology AFRL Det 15, 2012f
14
Start End Event Category Source 1999 Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)
announces $2.5 million in funding for civilian researchers for use of the Air Force’s most advanced telescopes on Haleakala.
Public Good/Discoveries High Tech Maui, 1999
1999 First Annual AMOS Technologies Conference with 254 attendees, including the Honorable Daniel Inouye.
Public Good/Discoveries AFRL Det 15, 2012b
1999 GEODSS telescopes under control of AFSPC Det. 15. Site Management Duffner, undated 1999 MHPCC installs IBM’s “Deep Blue” RS/6000 SP. Construction/Hardware
Updates High Tech Maui, 1999
1999 Seven telescopes and their associated hardware/facilities, which makes up MSSC, belong to Det 15.
Site Management Duffner, undated
1999 USAF contributes up to $2 million for joint National Science Foundation (NSF) and MSSC project.
Programs and Technology Tanjl, 1999
Feb 1999
Raytheon completes factory acceptance testing of AEOS optics system.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
Feb 12 1999
Textron uses expertise developed on Maui to develop new sensors for the U.S. Navy.
Support Missile Defence, 1999
Mar 1999
AEOS adaptive optics system delivered to Maui. Programs and Technology Duffner, 2009
Jun 1999
First light achieved on the LWIR imager, permitting good images of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Public Good/Discoveries “Funds Coming for Civilian Projects at Maui,” 1999
Jun 25 1999
MHPCC initiates efforts to procure and implement upgrades for 40–50 percent of its current hardware.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Maui Space Surveillance System Team, email discussion regarding timeline comments, May, 2012
Jul 29 1999
Due to joint efforts of Raytheon and the AEOS team, the AEOS telescope and adaptive optics systems work together to change the settings on the deformable mirror to generate a high-resolution image for the first time.
Programs and Technology Duffner, 2009; AFRL Det 15, 2012c
Aug 1999
AMOS assists UH in capturing infrared images of the moon during an eclipse.
Public Good/Discoveries Tanjl, 1999
Aug 03 1999
AEOS contributes to collection and investigation of data from the NASA’s Lunar Prospective satellite mission.
Support Stimson, 1999
Sep 1999
Hawaii Technology Trade Association (HTTA) is launched to serve the state’s growing technology industry.
Public Good/Discoveries High Tech Maui, 1999
Sep 1999
Sep 2000
Maj Joseph Bishop serves as AFRL Det 15 Commander. Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Sep 13 1999
1,100 to 1,200 customers throughout the United States, Pacific, and Asia use the supercomputer since its start of operation in 1994.
Public Good/Discoveries Tanjl, 1999
15
Start End Event Category Source Sep 13 1999
MSSC takes on new role of helping non-military scientists learn about space and objects such as the moon, asteroids, and nearby planets. MSSC also shares information on which space objects it sees and how well it is able to see them with these scientists.
Political Tanjl, 1999
Sep 13 1999
Students at Maui Community College work with scientists to analyze data from Haleakala processed through the supercomputer.
Public Good/Discoveries Tanjl, 1999
2000 AFOSR and NSF establish a basic research partnership to allow astronomers access to telescope site.
Public Good/Discoveries Air Force Research Laboratory, AMOS Overview, undated
2000 AEOS adaptive optics system dedicated to SSA and the system at Starfire Optical Range (SOR) used to support beam control research as opposed to imaging research.
Programs and Technology Ulibarri, 2011; AFRL Det 15, 2012i
2000 AEOS becomes fully operational for satellite imaging. Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, 2009
2000 Collaboration between AFRL and NASA’s JPL results in transfer of NEAT camera from GEODSS to 1.2-m telescope.
Programs and Technology AFRL Det 15, 2012b
2000 Decision made to “resurrect” original Baker-Nunn telescope and retrofit it with a state-of-the-art CCD.
Programs and Technology Africano et al., 2001
2000 Management and operation of AEOS made responsibility of AFRL/DE.
Site Management Duffner, 2009
2000 Raven telescope becomes fully operational at the Maui site.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, undated
2000 The AEOS adaptive optics system is identified as one of the most advanced imaging systems in the world for tracking and producing high-resolution images of objects in space.
Programs and Technology Duffner, 2009
2000 Transition of all telescopes to AFMC with exception of GEODSS.
Site Management Duffner, undated
2000 Raven and GEODSS transferred to AFSPC. Site Management Nelson, 2003 2000 UH receives contract to run MHPCC. Site Management Duffner, undated Feb 2000
First light achieved on 1.4 x 1.4 deg. field of view NEAT system.
Programs and Technology AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Feb 2000
Contractors who assembled and tested the AEOS system and trained Maui employees on its operation are no longer resident on the island.
Site Management Duffner, 2009
Apr 01 2000
May 31 2004
Maj Gen Paul G. Nielsen, PhD, serves as AFRL Commander.
Site Management Wikipedia, 2011
Jul 01 2000
Transition of MHPCC from UNM to UH began, with 90 percent of UNM Maui employees transferring to work under the new UH contract.
Site Management Duffner, undated
Sep 2000
Second Annual AMOS Technologies Conference, with 265 registered participants.
Support Maui Economic Development Board, Inc., 2012
16
Start End Event Category Source Sep 2000
Jul 2002
Maj Raley Marek serves as AFRL Det 15 Commander. Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Oct 2000
Site transferred from AFSPC purview to AFRL. Site Management “USAF Space Control Needs Cause Ops Tempo Surge at Maui Site,” 2003
Oct 01 2000
Roles of Det 15 and Det 3 are reversed. Det 15 Directed Energy Beam Improvement (DEBI) became host organization for running entire Maui site. As the new tenant unit, Det 3 is only responsible for operating the three GEODSS telescopes it owns atop the mountain.
Site Management Duffner, undated
2001 A new camera with a wider field of view mounted on the 1.6-m telescope significantly improves the chances of finding a satellite during its single pass over Maui.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, undated
2001 AFOSR leadership helps to allocate funding to AMOS in Fiscal Year 2001 and provides guidance on implementation of a basic research program at AMOS.
Site Management Duffner, undated
2001 AFRL Det 15 initiates a project to develop and integrate a suite of wide field of view (WFOV) sensor systems.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Africano et al., 2001
2001 AFSPC certifies Raven as a contributing sensor to the integrated Threat Warning/Attack Assessment network.
Programs and Technology Duffner, undated
2001 AMOS collects data on ten missile flights, the most ever in a one-year period in the history of the Maui site.
Public Good/Discoveries Duffner, undated
2001 Det 3 converts the third GEODSS telescope (and its supporting hardware) into a better-performing telescope.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, undated
2001 MHPCC develops new imaging algorithms and software designed to enhance clarity of optical images provided by the telescopes at MSSC.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, undated
2001 MHPCC makes substantial progress developing and testing cutting-edge parallel computing software and hardware used for advancing modeling and simulation work to support the warfighter.
Programs and Technology Duffner, undated
2001 MHPCC ranked as 12th largest supercomputer in the world.
Programs and Technology Duffner, undated
2001 MHPPC devotes over three million hours of high-speed computing time to modeling and simulation studies supporting nine Air Force and Navy priority programs.
Support Duffner, undated
2001 MHPPC hosts the first IBM Linux Supercluster in the DoD inventory.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, undated
2001 JPL pays for time on the 1.2-m telescopes. Programs and Technology Duffner, undated 2001 NSF provides an additional $250,000 for outside scientists
to participate in the Maui basic research program. Public Good/Discoveries Duffner, undated
17
Start End Event Category Source 2001 Number of approved government and non-government
researcher accounts that permit individuals the right to use MHPCC total 910 during the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2001.
Public Good/Discoveries Duffner, undated
2001 Progress on the OCS upgrade program allows the operation of any telescope from consoles located at a number of locations at the MSSC. This allows the system to operate without downtime in the event that the AEOS facility fails.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Duffner, undated
2001 Project Phoenix, an effort to bring the Baker-Nunn camera back to operational status, begins.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Law, 2002
2001 The Raven small telescope team, led by Paul Kervin, technical director for AMOS, receives the prestigious Air Force Science and Engineering Award in the category of Engineering Achievement. The Raven consistently provides more accurate data to AFSPC than any of the three GEODSS telescopes.
Programs and Technology Duffner, undated
2001 Visiting group of astronomers use the AMOS facilities to study the atmosphere around Titan.
Public Good/Discoveries Duffner, undated
Jan 16 2001
The Air Force praises Raytheon for its success in the design, fabrication, installation, and test of the AEOS adaptive optics system and Visible Imager.
Site Management Duffner, 2009
Feb 2001
Trex, a subcontractor to Boeing, is given full responsibility to operate and maintain the AEOS adaptive optics system.
Site Management Duffner, 2009
Mar 2001
AMOS AFRL collaborates with NASA’s JPL on the NEAT program.
Site Management Africano et al., 2001
Mar 2001
AMOS uses spectrographs for debris observation research.
Programs and Technology Africano et al., 2001
Jun 2001
Renovated Baker-Nunn Telescope scheduled to be made available for viewing.
Programs and Technology Africano et al., 2001
Aug 2001
Telescope time at AMOS costs an estimated $2,000/hour. Programs and Technology Greeley, 2001
2002 AFRL/DE supports construction of a mirror coating facility at Maui.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Phillips Research Site, 2005
2002 First SSA conference held in conjunction with AMOS Conference.
Support AFRL Det 15, 2012b
2002 2012 Collaboration with the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office located in Houston. The purpose is to build the Meter-Class Acquisition Telescope (MCAT) on Roi-Namur, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands.
Programs and Technology AFRL Det 15, 2012g
18
Start End Event Category Source Jan 2002
Mar 2005
Maui Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere (MauiMALT) consortium measures sodium abundance over Haleakala using University of Illinois light detection and ranging (LIDAR) (35 nights of data).
Public Good/Discoveries AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Jul 2002
Jan 2004
Lt Col Jeffrey McCann serves as AFRL Det 15 Commander.
Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Sep 2002
Third Annual AMOS Technologies Conference brings together approximately 320 people.
Support Nelson, 2003
Oct 2002
Responsibilities of USSPACECOM, for which AEOS provides real time imaging, transferred to U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM).
Site Management Duffner, 2009
Dec 2002
AEOS Burst Camera installed for observing gamma ray burst (GRB) optical afterglows.
Construction/Hardware Updates
AFRL Det 15, 2012f
2003 AEOS images Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System missile intercept.
Programs and Technology AFRL Det 15, 2012b
Jan 28 2003
AMOS takes images of the Space Shuttle Columbia in orbit four days before its reentry.
Public Good/Discoveries National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2003
2003 MHPCC serves as a testing site for hybrid small waterplane area craft (HYSWAC).
Public Good/Discoveries Jane’s, 2003
2003 AMOS team provides operational support for the Columbia accident investigation (STS-107).
Public Good/Discoveries Ulibarri, 2011
Apr 04 2003
Jun 28 2003
Col Mark D. Stephen serves as AFRL/DE Director. Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012c
Jun 02 2003
10–15 percent of AMOS’s telescope time is allocated for non-defense research.
Support Nelson, 2003
Jun 02 2003
Lt Col Jeffrey McCann reports that the MHPCC is managed by AFRL.
Site Management Nelson, 2003
Jun 02 2003
Some of MSSC’s basic research money is applied to look at novel ways to perform adaptive optics, one of which is the development of non-mechanical actuators. Some of the basic research dollars would be spent looking for new adaptive optics techniques for use five to ten years from now.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Nelson, 2003
Jun 29 2003
Sep 22 2006
Dr. L. Bruce Simpson serves as AFRL/DE Director. Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012c
Sep 2003
Maui HiBrite laser demonstrates repeatable success in hitting retro-reflector satellites, including Lageos, Explorer, and Geos.
Programs and Technology AFRL Det 15, 2012e
Sep 2003
Fourth Annual AMOS Technologies Conference, with 415 registered participants.
Support Maui Economic Development Board, Inc., 2012
Oct 2003
Risk assessments and studies of the hazards associated with moving the 3.67-m telescope shows the best solution is to re-coat AEOS mirror at the top of Haleakala.
Programs and Technology Phillips Research Site, 2005
19
Start End Event Category Source Oct 10 2003
Senate allocates an additional $2.6 million to install medium-wave infrared adaptive optics on AEOS.
Political “Maui’s Defense Sector to Profit from FY 2003 Department of Defense Appropriations,” Winter 2002–2003
2004 House and Senate authorizers recommend a $10 million increase beyond the $6.3 million DoD request for MSSC to fund the high accuracy network determination system (HANDS).
Political “USAF Space Control Needs Cause Ops Tempo Surge at Maui Site,” 2003
2004 NASA collaborates with AMOS in three main observation programs.
Support Africano et al., 2004
2004 The High-Performance Software Applications Institute for Space Situation Awareness is established at the MHPCC.
Programs and Technology Air Force Research Laboratory, AMOS Overview, undated
2004 2008 AEOS observes 21 GRB notifications with ten detected afterglows.
Public Good/Discoveries Flewelling, 2009
Jan 2004
Jul 2004
Maj Kelly Hammett serves as AFRL Det 15 Commander. Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Mar 06 2004
Identification of J002E3 as an artificial satellite is placed within the research interests of AMOS.
Programs and Technology Lambert, 2004
Mar 24 2004
Researchers use results from observations of large rocket bodies and satellites in both lower and geosynchronous Earth orbits at AMOS to study physical properties of orbital debris.
Support Jorgensen, 2004
May 28 2004
Jun 04 2004
National Research Council (NRC) reviews the effectiveness of the Maui Astronomy Research Program, a program jointly funded and managed by AFOSR and NSF, in encouraging competitive research.
Study Kahn, 2004
Jun 01 2004
Nov 30 2005
Maj Gen Perry L. Lamy serves as AFRL Commander. Site Management Wikipedia, 2011
Jun 15 2004
Jun 30 2006
Dr. Jim F. Riker serves as AMOS Branch Chief. Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Jul 2004
Football, a Maui-to-SOR handover experiment, demonstrates precision satellite handover.
Programs and Technology AFRL Det 15, 2012e
Jul 2004
Jul 2005
Lt Col Brent Richert serves as AFRL Det 15 Commander. Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Aug 16 2004
AMOS provides assistance with development of Cosmos 1, the world’s first solar sail craft..
Support “Cosmos 1 Solar Sail Passes New Milestone,” 2004
Sep 2004
Fifth Annual AMOS Technologies Conference, with 485 registered participants.
Support Maui Economic Development Board, Inc., 2012
Nov 20 2004
Active Track program begins, which supports timely characterization, dim object detection, and exquisite characterizations of objects in space.
Programs and Technology Phillips Research Site, 2006
2005 Significant increase in the cost of using the large AMOS telescope makes it impossible for the Maui Astronomy Research Program to continue.
Programs and Technology Kahn, 2004
20
Start End Event Category Source 2005 The Senate Appropriations Committee, led by Daniel
Inouye of Hawaii, mandates a study to assess whether the AFRL Maui site may be more effectively managed by the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate rather than by AFRL/DE. The study concludes that MSSC should remain under AFRL/RD management.
Study Vansuch, 2005
Mar 05 2005
Northrop Grumman awarded $201,000 to provide technical support to AMOS.
Site Management Domenici, 2005
Jun 2005
Beam Director Telescope (BDT) roll-away enclosure completed, allowing low elevation projection for Critical Measurements and Counter-Measures (CMCM) 1 & 2 support. The roll-away replaces the original clamshell dome.
Construction/Hardware Updates
AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Jul 2005
AEOS High-resolution Visible and Infrared Spectrograph (HiVIS) spectropolarimeter operated by UH observes impact of Comet Tempel 1 as part of worldwide support for the NASA Deep Impact mission.
Public Good/Discoveries AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Jul 2005
Jun 2007
Lt Col Janet Augustine serves as AFRL Det 15 Commander.
Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Aug 2005
First two of four launches of the CMCM program conducted in collaboration with Missile Defense Agency (MDA) at AMOS. These long-range interactions and missile complexes provide invaluable data collection and analysis.
Programs and Technology AFRL Det 15, 2012e
Sep 2005 Sixth Annual AMOS Technologies Conference, with 540 registered participants.
Support Maui Economic Development Board, Inc., 2012
Oct 13 2005
AMOS 3.6-m telescope acquires some limited temporal photometry of the Galaxy 15 satellite in its post-launch period, establishing a baseline photometric record. Galaxy 15 is later discovered to have an anomaly.
Support Larose, May 23, 2012
2006 Collaboration with NASA to assist in anomaly resolution of their Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) satellite, which had stopped responding.
Support AFRL Det 15, 2012g
2006 Congress appropriates $45.9 million to MSSC. Political George C. Marshall Institute, 2007 2006 MHPCC increases computational capability to over 60
teraFLOPS. Construction/Hardware
Updates Ulibarri and Harvey, 2012
Jan 01 2006
Oct 31 2007
Maj Gen Ted F. Bowlds serves as AFRL Commander. Site Management Wikipedia, 2011
Apr 2006
Third and fourth launches of the CMCM program conducted in collaboration with MDA at AMOS. These interactions and missile complexes provide invaluable data collection and analysis.
Programs and Technology AFRL Det 15, 2012e
21
Start End Event Category Source Jun 02 2006
Manpower and money is allocated to improve MSSC technology, such as actuators, mechanical piston-like devices that continually reshape the deformable mirror to make adaptive optics possible, and the system’s cameras, especially the CCD components in the cameras.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Nelson, 2003
Jun 02 2006
MSSC reports working on new algorithms to sharpen images of space objects, improving post-image processing.
Public Good/Discoveries Nelson, 2003
Jul 01 2006
Jul 31 2008
Dr. Kip Kendrick serves as AMOS Branch Chief. Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Sep 10 2006
Sep 14 2006
Seventh Annual AMOS Technologies Conference brings together over 400 scientists, engineers, and technical managers from academia, industry, government, and the military.
Support Maui Economic Development Board, Inc., 2012
Sep 22 2006
Jan 08 2007
Col Kirk M. Kloeppel (acting) serves as AFRL/DE Director. Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012c
2007 AMOS engages in multiple methods to overcome atmospheric blurring.
Programs and Technology Matson, 2007
2007 Congress appropriates $50.4 million to MSSC. Political George C. Marshall Institute, 2007 2007 With the financial support of AMOS, a multi-frame blind
deconvolution (MFBD) algorithm called Physically-Constrained Iterative Deconvolution (PCID) is efficiently parallelized and is able to produce image restorations in only a few seconds.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Matson, 2007
Jan 08 2007
Oct 23 2010
Ms. Susan J. Thornton serves as AFRL/DE Director. Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012c
Jun 2007
Jun 2009
Lt Col Mark Leonard serves as AFRL Det 15 Commander. Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Sep 12 2007
Sep 15 2007
Eighth Annual AMOS Technologies Conference brings together over 550 participants and included representation from across the United States, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Japan, Russia, Switzerland, and Taiwan.
Support Maui Economic Development Board, Inc., 2012
Sep 18 2007
Senator Inouye requests $24 million in earmarks for MSSC.
Political Needham, 2011
Nov 2007
Chinese antisatellite weapons test highlights the importance of national security space programs, resulting in Congressional appropriations $100 million above the President’s budget request for programs aimed at improving U.S. SSA capabilities.
Political George C. Marshall Institute, 2007
Nov 01 2007
Jan 31 2010
Maj Gen Curtis M. Bedke serves as AFRL Commander. Site Management Wikipedia, 2011
2008 Congress appropriates $41.4 million to MSSC. Political Mazol, 2010 2008 President’s budget requests $5.2 million for MSSC, a
significant decrease. Political George C. Marshall Institute, 2007
22
Start End Event Category Source Jun 2008
Jun 15 2008
Given the possibility that Congress might reduce or eliminate add-ons in a political environment increasingly averse to congressional earmarks, as well as the eventual retirement of Senator Inouye, Major General Bedke forms a Task Force to determine the best way for the Maui site to end its dependency on congressional add-on funding.
Study Crawford et al., 2008
Aug 01 2008
Apr 24 2012
Ms. Laura J. Ulibarri serves as AMOS Branch Chief. Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Aug 21 2008
Mirror recoat facility ribbon cutting ceremony. Construction/Hardware Updates
Air Force Research Laboratory, 2008
Sep 16 2008
Sep 19 2008
Ninth Annual AMOS Technologies Conference brings together over 580 scientists, engineers, and technical managers from across the nation to listen and discuss the latest in SSA, military space capabilities, and related technologies.
Support Maui Economic Development Board, Inc., 2012
Dec 2008
General Bedke (then AFRL/CC) charges Col Gary Hopper to plan for the financial and contractual changes necessary to make the Maui site solvent without congressional earmarks. Many of these changes support recommendations of the Maui Task Force and are given to the AFRL/RD to implement.
Study Hopper et al., 2010
Dec 06 2008
The first Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) telescope, PS1, goes online.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Wikipedia, 2012
2009 AMOS operational support for the Astronaut Safety for Hubble Repair Mission.
Public Good/Discoveries Ulibarri, 2011
2009 Congress appropriates $36.4 million to MSSC. Political Mazol, 2009 2009 Research paper uses Cray XD1 supercomputer located at
MHPCC to explore the scalability of PCID as a function of the number of worker processors used in a worker process.
Programs and Technology Matson, 2009
2009 Researchers conduct tests on turbulence compensation approach using AEOS telescope.
Programs and Technology Vorontsov et al., 2009
Jul 2009
Oct 2010
Lt Col James Greer serves as AFRL Det 15 Commander. Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Sep 01 2009
Sep 04 2009
Tenth Annual AMOS Technologies Conference brings together more than 630 scientists, engineers, and technical managers from ten countries, including China, Japan, Italy, and Russia.
Support Schumacher, 2009; Maui Economic Development Board, Inc., 2012
Sep 29 2009
Senator Inouye criticized for adding $208 million of earmarks, including a $20 million for Boeing’s operation of MSSC.
Political Smith, 2009
Feb 01 2010
Apr 30 2011
Maj Gen Dr. Ellen M. Pawlikowski serves as AFRL Commander.
Site Management Wikipedia, 2011
23
Start End Event Category Source Feb 04 2010
End of Active Track program. Programs and Technology AFRL Det 15, 2012e
Mar 11 2010
Control of the mount is lost and the AEOS telescope rotates in azimuth until it reaches the end of travel. The azimuth drive motor is the source of the failure. Over the next six months, the problem is explored and a method for removing the motor is developed.
Construction/Hardware Updates
AFRL Det 15, 2012h
May 13 2010
The first PAN-STARRS telescope, PS1, begins full-time science observations.
Construction/Hardware Updates
Wikipedia, 2012
May 19 2010
Jun 19 2010
AFRL/RD response to General Bedke's requests to implement some of the financial and contractual changes study and produce a modernization plan for the Maui site. This modernization plan intends to make the Maui site attractive to defense and intelligence community customers, making it more of an operational, rather than research, facility and eliminating its dependence on congressional add-on funding by (Fiscal Year) 2017.
Study Thornton, May 19, 2010; Thornton, June 18, 2010
Aug 12 2010
The Optical Society of America selects Venkata S.R. Gudimetla, a senior research physicist at MSSC, as a senior member.
Site Management Dailey, 2010
Sep 14 2010
Sep 17 2010
Eleventh Annual AMOS Technologies Conference brings together over 620 experts in the fields of space surveillance and optical systems development from all over the world.
Support Maui Economic Development Board, Inc., 2012
Oct 01 2010
Apr 24 2012
Lt Col Michael Harvey serves as AFRL Det 15 Commander.
Site Management AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Oct 24 2010
Dr. David Hardy serves as AFRL/DE Director. Site Management United States Air Force, 2011
Feb 2011
DoD awards UH cost reimbursement contract for research, development, operations, and management of the Maui Supercomputing Center.
Site Management University of Hawaii, 2011
Feb 02 2011
Senator Inouye accepts two-year ban on earmark requests.
Political Needham, 2011
May 13 2011
Jul 29 2012
Maj Gen Dr. William McCasland serves as AFRL Commander.
Site Management Wikipedia, 2011
Jul 16 2011
First instance of photographed glow from atmospheric pressure disturbances generated by tsunami observed, raising hopes that the technique could be used to predict the arrival of future waves.
Public Good/Discoveries Borg, 2011
Aug 2011
Nine months after the removal of the AEOS broken azimuth drive motor, a new motor for AEOS is delivered and reinstalled over the course of several weeks.
Construction/Hardware Updates
AFRL Det 15, 2012f
Sep 13 2011
Sep 16 2011
Twelfth Annual AMOS Technologies Conference, with 632 registered participants.
Support Schumacher, 2011; Maui Economic Development Board, Inc., 2012
24
Start End Event Category Source Sep 13 2011
Senator Inouye reaffirms his support for AMOS. Political Schumacher, 2011
Jan 19 2012
Hardy Modernization Plan seeks to engage defense customers. Under the plan, the Maui site proposes to offer two primary products for defense customers: a Wide Eye optical “space fence” and Narrow Eye for local search and characterization of deep space and dim objects.
Study Hardy, 2012
25
References
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Africano, John, et al., “AMOS Debris Observations,” in Proceedings of the Third European Conference on Space Debris, March 19–21 2001, Darmstadt, Germany, Noordwijk: ESA Publications Division, October 2001.
AFRL Det 15, email discussion with staff regarding technical capabilities, April 9, 2012a.
AFRL Det 15, email discussion with staff regarding the timeline, April 13, 2012b.
AFRL Det 15, email discussion with staff regarding team comments on the timeline, April 17, 2012c.
AFRL Det 15, email discussion with staff regarding the timeline, April 23, 2012d.
AFRL Det 15, email discussion with staff regarding the timeline, April 24, 2012e.
AFRL Det 15, email discussion with staff regarding the timeline, April 25, 2012f.
AFRL Det 15, email discussion with staff regarding the timeline, April 26, 2012g.
AFRL Det 15, email discussion with staff regarding the timeline, May 2, 2012h.
AFRL Det 15, email discussion with staff regarding AEOS adaptive optics system, May 11, 2012i.
AFRL Det 15, email discussion with staff regarding leadership appointment dates, May 23, 2012j.
Ainsworth, Gail, compiler and editor, “The Index to the Maui News: 1951–1973,” Maui Historical Society, Wailuku, Maui, HI, 2010. As of May 18 2012: http://www.mauimuseum.org/UserFiles/File/Maui_News/maui_index_6-17-10.pdf
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26
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“Cosmos 1 Solar Sail Passes New Milestone,” Space Daily, August 16, 2004. As of June 22, 2012: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Cosmos_1_Solar_Sail_Passes_New_ Milestone.html
Crawford, N., D. Frost, T. Pensa, and O. Younossi, “Transitioning the Maui Space Surveillance System: A Campaign Plan,” PowerPoint presentation, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif., June 2008.
Dailey, Jeanne, “AFRL Physicist Attains Special Recognition,” news release, August 20, 2010. As of June 22, 2012: http://www.kirtland.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123218538%3E
Domenici, Pete, U.S. Senate, “Domenici Applauds Work Done for Air Force Research Lab,” news release, March 3, 2005.
Dongarra, Jack J., Hans W. Meuer, and Erich Strohmaier, Top 500 Supercomputer Sites, 11th ed., June 18, 1998. As of June 22, 2012: http://www.uni-mannheim.de/rum/ueber_uns/dokumentationen/ berichte_des_rechenzentrums/top500_juni_1998_pdf/top500_juni_1998.pdf
Duffner, Robert W., AFRL/VSIH, interview with Thomas W. Thompson, History, AFRL/Information Directorate regarding MSSC/AMOS, AFRL Rome, Kirtland AFB, NM: Phillips Research Site History Office (AFRL/RVIH) archives, November 20, 2002.
Duffner, Robert, data files on Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site background, undated. Available from Phillips Research Site History Office (AFRL/RVIH) archives, Kirtland AFB, NM.
Duffner, Robert, The Adaptive Optics Revolution: A History, Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 2009.
Flewelling, Heather Anne, Observations of Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows with the AEOS Burst Camera, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, ProQuest/UMI, AAT 3382181, 2009.
27
“Funds Coming for Civilian Projects at Maui,” BMD Monitor, September 17, 1999, p. 8.
George C. Marshall Institute, “National Security Space FY 2008 Budget: Overview and Assessment,” Marshall Policy Outlook, November 2007.
Greeley, Jim, “Space Watchers (Detachment 5, Air Force Research Laboratory, Hawaii),” Airman, August 1, 2001. As of August 23, 2012: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-78397889.html
Greenwood, Darryl P., and Charles A. Primmerman, “Adaptive Optics Research at Lincoln Laboratories,” The Lincoln Laboratory Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1992.
“Haleakala to Hubble...” Real Estate, December 2000, p. C4.
Hardy, D., Air Force Research Laboratory, Directed Energy Directorate (AFRL/RD), “Update on AFRL Way Ahead to Define Operational & Sustainment Needs of Maui and SOR,” briefing to Mr. Bruce Carlson, Albuquerque, NM, 2012.
Hartogensis, J., and Avco Everett Research Lab Inc., AMOS Phase III Program, Vol. 1, Accession Number ADB027059, March 1978.
Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, “FY96 Advanced Weapons Technology Area Plan,” Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio: Directorate of Science & Technology, 1995.
High Tech Maui Staff, “Bytes,” High Tech Maui, Fall 1999, p. 1.
High Tech Maui Staff, “Tracking Man-Made Space Objects,” High Tech Maui, Winter 2001–2002, p. 2.
Hopper, Gary, Steve Ewers, Jackie Organisciak, Lisa Gallagher, and James Roche, “Maui Task Force,” Final Out Brief to Gen Curt Bedke, December 2010.
Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, “IfA Maui History,” 2013a. As of March 17, 2013: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/haleakalanew/history.shtml
Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, “The Haleakala Period,” 2013b. As of March 17, 2013, 2013: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/users/steiger/haleakala_period.htm
Jane’s, “Tests Loom as Twin-Hull Hybrid Craft Is Launched,” Jane’s Defense Weekly, June 23, 2003.
Jane’s, “Space Defense - Operators,” Jane’s Space Systems and Industry, March 7, 2007.
Jane’s, “Space Defense - Research & Development,” Jane’s Space Systems and Industry, January 17, 2012.
28
Janni, Joseph, email discussion with the author regarding team comments on the timeline, April 1, 2012.
Jorgensen, K., “Physical Properties of Orbital Debris from Spectroscopic Observations,” Advances in Space Research, Vo. 34, No. 5, 2004, pp. 1021–1025.
Kahn, S., Chair, Committee on Review of USAF-Supported Astronomical Research, letter to Dr. Lyle H. Schwartz, Director, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, 2004.
Lambert, J. V., et al., “Photometric and Spectral Analysis of MPC Object J002E3,” IEEE Aerospace Conference 2004, Conference Proceedings, Vol. 5, 2004, pp. 2866–2873.
Law, B., J. Africano, K. Hamada, P. Sydney, V. Soo Hoo, T. Soo Hoo, J. Barros, D. Nishimoto, D. O’Connell, and P. Kervin, “The Phoenix Telescope at AMOS: Return of the Baker-Nunn Camera,” Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Proceedings, SPIE, Vol. 4836, 2002. As of June 22, 2012: http://spiedigitallibrary.org/proceedings/resource/2/psisdg/4836/1/119_1
Marek, Raley, Site Commander Det 15, Air Force Research Laboratory, “Introduction to AMOS Support to SBIRS_LOW,” briefing slides, August 14, 2001.
Matson, C. L., “Fast and Optimal Multiframe Blind Deconvolution Algorithm for High-Resolution Ground-Based Imaging of Space objects,” Applied Optics, Vol. 48, No. 1, 2009, pp. A75–A92.
Matson, C., “PCID and ASPIRE 2.0 – The Next Generation of AMOS Image Processing Software,” Proceedings of the Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies Conference, Hawaii, 2007, p. E60.
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29
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30
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Jan Jan Feb Jul Jan Jul Aug Sep Oct Jan May May Jun Jul Aug Sep Jan Jan May Sep Jan Jan Feb Mar Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jun Oct Jan Jan Jan Sep Jan Dec Jan Jun Jan Oct Apr Sep Oct Jan Jan Jul Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan May Jun Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Jan Feb Mar Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Jul Aug Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Jun Oct Nov Dec Jan Jun Jul Aug Dec Jan May Jun Jul Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Jan Feb May Jul Aug Sep Oct Feb
1951 1952 1954 1956 1957 1958 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
A Sixty Year Timeline of the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site (AMOS)
Created with Timeline Maker Professional. Produced on Sep 16 2013.
Legend: Programs and Technology Construction/Hardware Updates Support Political Public Good/Discoveries Study Site Management
1951Grote Reber
recognizes thescientific merit and
practicality ofHaleakala as an
optical site.
Apr 1955Dr. Walter R. Steigerfrom the University of
Hawaii (UH)Department of Physicsconducts a site surveystudy near the summit
of Haleakala todetermine the
suitability of thelocation for a solar
observatory.
1956Dr. Whipple from the
SmithsonianAstrophysical
Observatory selectsHaleakala as one of
the twelve sites for itsglobal network of
twelve Baker-Nunntelescope/camera
systems dedicated totracking the Vanguard
satellite. At hisrequest, Dr. Mees,
former vice presidentfor research at the
Eastman KodakCompany, provides
financial support to UHto build a satellite
tracking station atopHaleakala.
Jul 11 1956
Prior to theestablishment of theoptical station, the
U.S. Army begins six-month star tracking
project at Haleakala.Jun 22 1957
Haleakala takes onimportant InternationalGeophysical Year rolewith satellite tracking.
Jul 01 1957UH's satellite tracking
facility is ready. It usesa meteor-tracking
Schmidt camera untilthe Baker-Nunn
telescope arrives.
Oct 04 1957Sputnik launch
provides motivationfor the establishmentof a satellite tracking
system in Hawaii.
1958The Baker-Nunn
telescope arrives andis installed. These
large telescopiccameras, based on
the Schmidt telescope,are designed
specifically to providespace object tracking
information onsatellites.
May 07 1958Tracking station
photographs SputnikII.
Apr 20 1960Tracking camera
photographs Tiros Iweather satellite.
Jun 25 1960
Prior to theestablishment of theoptical station, the
U.S. Army launchesProject Betty satellite
tracking project atPuunene.
Aug 17 1960Tracking camera
photographs Echo I.
Aug 20 1960Haleakala observers
are first to obtainphoto of Discoverer
XIV beacon.
1961Dr. J. Ruina, ARPADirector at the time,
gave his approval forproject, on the
condition that theastronomical
community agreed itwas a good idea, and
would actually doresearch with AMOS.
1961
An Executive Order byGovernor William
Quinn establishes the"Haleakala High
Altitude ObservatorySite," sometimes
referred to as ScienceCity, on the summit of
Haleakala.
1961Several prominent
astronomers met atHarvard's Smithsonian
Optical Observatoryand agreed thatAMOS's planned
infrared observingcapabilities and itsproposed location
farther south of theexisting US
observatories wouldbe beneficial to the
astronomicalcommunity.
1961R. Zirkind of the
Advanced ResearchProjects Agency
(ARPA) proposes theARPA Midcourse
Observation Station(AMOS) as an
astronomical-qualityobservatory for
obtaining precisemeasurements andimages of reentry
bodies and decoys,satellites, and otherspace objects in theinfrared and visiblespectrum. During itsearly years, it wasinterchangeably
referred to as theARPA Midcourse
Optical Station(AMOS).
Jun 1961ARPA Order 236 is
set up with theUniversity of Michigan(UM). Amendment No.2 to this order would
formally begin theAMOS effort by
allocating $8.3 millionto UM for telescope
design, construction,and eventual
operation of theobservatory. The
ARPA orderamendment stated theobjectives of AMOS asfollows: identification
and signature ofspace objects,
establishment of anactive program to
advance the state ofthe art of infrared
technology and high-resolution imagery,
and establishment ofa research program in
geophysical andastrophysics including
the astronomicalcommunity.
1963
UM completes thedesign of the 1.2-mtwin telescopes, onemainly for trackingand the other for
special observations,and a 1.6-m telescope
to be usedpredominately forwork in the visible
spectrum.
1963The Army Corps ofEngineers begins
Phase I of theconstruction of AMOSatop Haleakala, usingland leased from UH
at no cost. The Corpsconstructs all the
facilities except for thetelescopes and
domes.
Feb 05 1964
UM begins $5 millionobservatory.
Feb 08 1964
Groundbreaking setfor UM project.
1965AMOS satellitetracking facility
achieves first light.
Jan 27 1965The Maui News
recognizes AMOS asa first-class institution.
Aug 1966AMOS opens as
ARPA's MidcourseOptical Observatory
Station to collectoptical measurements
on intercontinentalballistic missiles
(ICBMs) launchedfrom Vandenberg AirForce Base (AFB),
California, to theKwajalein Atoll in the
Pacific. At the time, its1.6-m telescope is
one of the world's tenlargest astronomical
telescopes.
Nov 02 1966
UM observatory headoffice moves from
Kahului to Wailuku.
1967
ARPA designatesAMOS site for
Western Test Rangemidcourse
observations, with UMconducting operations
and maintenance(O&M). About 40
scientists, engineersand technicians work
for UM, about halftraveling to the summit
on any given day.
1967UH establishes the
Institute for Astronomy(IfA). Its faculty andstaff are involved in
astronomy educationand in the
development andmanagement of the
observatories onHaleakala.
19691.2-m twin telescopesbecome operationalfor missile launches
and spacesurveillance.
1969Mission eventually
evolves into strategicmissile observations
and spacesurveillance.
1969 - 1974
AMOS Phase II, duringwhich time the statedgoal is to provide a
more space-orientedrole for AMOS's
capabilities.
19691.6-m telescope
becomes operationalfor missile launches
and spacesurveillance.
1969ARPA begins to allow
use of facility tooutside visiting
customers.
1969Avco Everett
Research Lab (AERL)takes over the
technical direction andLockheed Martin isawarded the O&M
contract
May 21 1969UM relinquishes O&M
management ofAMOS.
Jun 21 1969Lockheed Corporation
takes over O&Mmanagement of
AMOS.
Jun 28 1969
Lockheed Corporationruns AMOS with AERL
from Wailuku office.
Jan 06 1972Lockheed Corporation
moves offices toPuunene Hospital.
1974UH builds the LunarRanging Experiment(LURE) Observatory
atop Haleakala. LUREutilizes a high-
powered pulsed laserto obtain distance
measurements to fivereflector arrays left on
the Moon by threeApollo missions and
two RussianFederation robot
spacecraft.
Nov 01 1974 - Nov01 1974
The DefenseAdvanced Research
Projects Agency(DARPA), through
executive agents inthe Air Force Systems
Command (AFSC)Space and Missile
Systems Organization(SAMSO), contracts
with the AERL toconduct Phase III
operations at AMOS.This phase
concentrates heavilyon refinement and
optimization of existingsystems in addition to
installation of newand/or modifiedhardware and
software.
19750.6 m Laser Beam
Director (LBD)telescope installed.
1975Visiting ExperimenterProgram formalized
and initiated.
Jan 1975 - 1977AMOS Phase III.
1975AERL takes over all
contracts (two of threesite facilities), while
AMOS is controlled byDARPA but Rome AirDevelopment Center
(RADC) is the“Executive Agent' for
DARPA.
1977AMOS hosts
operational adaptiveoptics silicon-on-insulator imaging
system (AF/RADC).
1977
Transition of 1.2-mtelescope to SAC andAir Defense Command
(ADCOM).
1977Strategic Air
Command (SAC)takes operational
control of the twin 1.2-m telescopes and thesite is renamed the Air
Force Maui OpticalStation (AMOS).
1977Transition of the 1.2-
m mount tooperational space
object identification(SOI) data collection.
1978AMOS begins routine
adaptive opticsimaging for space
situational awareness(SSA), resulting fromthe DARPA programfor the compensatedimaging system (CIS)
on the 1.6-mtelescope.
1978Real-time handoff ofballistic targets to an
over-the-horizonsensor using precision
range and anglesmeasurements.
Jun 1979AMOS's twin infrared1.2-m telescopes andassociated systems
become part of the AirForce Space Track
Network, which isrenamed the Maui
Optical Tracking andIdentification Facility
(MOTIF).
Oct 1979MOTIF's paired 1.2-m
telescopes becomededicated SSN
sensors, providingsatellite imaging,
tracking and infraredsignature data downto +19th magnitude.
1980
Construction beginson Ground-Based
Electro-Optical DeepSpace SurveillanceSystem (GEODSS).
Three new domes andapproximately 10,000square feet of office
and laboratory spaceon the south side are
built.
1981SAC runs MOTIF while
RADC is DARPA'sagent for all AMOSactivities/facilities.
1982Atmospheric
CompensationExperiment (ACE)
Phase I experimentsconducted at AMOS
demonstrateatmospheric
compensation for abeam propagating
along a 150-mhorizontal path (with
integrated turbulenceequal to that for
vertical propagationthrough the entire
atmosphere). Theseexperiments serve as
a predecessor tomodern adaptive
optics.
1982
Installation of CIS onthe 1.6-m telescope,the first operational
application of adaptiveoptics.
1982
GEODSS systemachieves initial
operational capability(IOC), making it one ofthree operational sites
in the worldperforming ground-
based optical trackingof space objects. Itemploys about 15O&M personnel.
1982
World's first adaptiveoptics satellite imagingsystem (CIS) on line at
AMOS andoperational for over
ten years. It providesongoing support toNational Technical
Means to the NationalAir and Space
IntelligenceCenter/Joint SpaceOperations Center
(NASIC/JSpOC).
Sep 1982Air Force Space
Commandheadquartered at
Peterson established.Advanced Electro-
Optical System(AEOS) telescopelater provides nearreal-time imaging to
support thisoperational unit.
1983In Phase II ACE
experiments, Maui sitepersonnel perform
atmosphericcompensation of a
laser beampropagating to a small
aircraft flying abovethe site.
Dec 1983Development of RADC
document for theacquisition of AMOS.
1984
The site transitionsfrom DARPA to the
U.S. Air Force (USAF)and is assigned to
RADC.
Jun 10 1984After test failures with
the first three flighttests, the fourth and
final test of theHoming OverlayExperiment was
successful,intercepting the
Minuteman reentryvehicle (RV) with a
closing speed ofabout 6.1 km/s at analtitude of more than
160 km. AMOSsupported the Homing
Overlay Experimentthrough acquisition
and tracking with the1.2-m Advanced
Multicolor Tracker forAMOS (AMTA)
system.
1985AMOS images shuttle
to look for missingtiles. This is the first
ever anomalyresolution using
resolved imagery.
1985AMOS signaturesused to diagnose
problems on DefenseMeteorological
Satellite Program(DMSP) with anomalyresolution using SOI
photometry.
1985First daylight image of
a satellite by AMOSusing a low-light level
television (LLTV)sensor on the 1.6-m
telescope. This leadsto a specialized
camera on the 1.2-mtelescope built byDFM Engineering.
1985World's first outgoingbeam compensation
to space targetsconducted at AMOS
(MassachusettsInstitute of
Technology/LincolnLaboratory [MIT/LL]
tests to Space Shuttle51G, Sandia sounding
rockets to 600 km).
Sep 23 1985U.S. Space Command(USSPACECOM), for
which AEOS laterprovides near real-
time imaging support,is established.
Apr 1986RADC decides to
upgrade telescopes atAMOS.
Sep 1986
RADC makes aproposal for a world-
class 4-m telescope atMaui to be called theAMOS Large Optical
Facility Test bed.
Oct 1986Strategic Defense
Initiative Organization(SDIO) rejects RADC's
proposal for a newtelescope at Mauimain because if its
projected costs.
1987 - 1988AMOS participates in
Surveillance,Acquisition, Targetingand Kill Assessment(SATKA) IntegratedExperiments, usingthe 1.2-m telescope
and long-waveinfrared (LWIR) AMTA
sensor.
19880.8-m Beam DirectorTracker installed to
support SDIO's RelayMirror Experiment.
1988 - 1991Short-Wavelength
Adaptive Techniques(SWAT) experiments
performed with the 50-em laser beam
director.
1988
AFSPC becomes hostorganization of AMOSand AFSC becomes a
tenant operating itsown R&D resources.
Aug 1988World's first synthetic
beacon adaptiveoptics image
compensated atAMOS by MIT/LL with
AirForce/RADC/AMOS
under SDIOsponsorship (using
sodium layer).
Jul 1989RADC proposes a
less costly plan for an$18 million telescope,AEOS, with lightweightoptics and other cost-saving technologies. Italso proposes that the
cost of AEOS beshared by SDIO,
AFSPC, and the AirForce's antisatellite
planning group.
1990A congressional
delegation led byHawaiian-electedofficials travels toMaui to review the
AEOS proposal and toinspect the Haleakala
site.
1990John Stanley of NASA
provides funding inthe early 90s to AMOS
in support of orbitaldebris observations.
1990Discussions begin onestablishing PhillipsLaboratory (PL) andconsolidating all Air
Force SystemsCommand (AFSC)
optical sites under it.
1990RADC briefs its
headquarters, theElectronic Systems
Division at HanscomAFB near Boston,which supports the
proposal.
1990The Relay Mirror
Experiment isconducted; it is the
first successful relayof a laser from a
ground station to anorbiting relay mirror
and back.
Feb 1990Joint funding backedby Air Force Space
Command (AFSPC),SDIO, and an
antisatellite planninggroup falls through
due to changingpriorities and
budgetary constraints.
Feb 1990Senator Daniel K.Inouye of Hawaii
revives AEOSprogram by gathering
support for theprogram in the
Senate.
Mar 1990AMOS contractorsAvco and TextronDefense Systems
outline advantages ofAEOS in a paperaddressing costs,
requirements,missions, and users.
Jun 1990
Management of theMaui site shifts from
RADC to the Air ForceWeapons Laboratory
at Kirtland AFB.
Oct 1990Rockwell Power
Systems begin five-year contract to
operate MOTIF andAMOS.
Nov 1990Col John Otten,
Commander of theWeapons Lab, formsa small advisory team
to preparespecifications for the
AEOS telescope,spelling out
precontractual work tobe completed beforemoney is committed
for contracts to designand build the
telescope.
Dec 13 1990
PL at Kirtland AFB isestablished as one ofthe four new labs in
the Air Force.
1991The AEOS reviewcommittee learns
about the Zerodur, a25,000-pound mirrorblank manufactured
for the Army's Ground-Based Free Electron
Laser TechnologyIntegration Experiment(GBFELTIE) but never
put into use, andconsiders its use for
AEOS.
1991Department ofDefense (DoD)
Appropriations Act of1991 allocated $14.95million over two yearsto start the acquisition
of a 4-m telescope,moving AEOS from
the debate phase tothe action phase.
Jan 01 1991Technical direction of
the AMOS sitetransferred from
Rome Laboratories toPL.
1991DMF builds
specialized camera on1.2-m telescope,which is financed
entirely by AFSPC.This is the first CCDcamera at AMOS. It
replaces film camerafor uncompensated
imaging.
1991The AEOS advisory
team headed by CaptRich Miller decidesthat AEOS wouldsupport the AirForce's space
surveillance missionsand might conduct
research into a laserantisatellite weapon
but would not carry itthrough to operational
use.
Mar 1991Lt Rich Elder replacesMiller as head of theAEOS review team.
Mar 1991The Retro-Assisted
Imaging LaserExperiment (RAILE)
successfully producesresolved imagery of
the four corner cubeson the Relay MirrorExperiment satellite,
employing anatmospheric-
cancelling three laserbeam synthetic
aperture technique.
May 1991AMOS site designated
as the Air Force'sCenter of Excellence
for Imaging Research.
May 1991
USAF transfersoperational control ofthe AMOS facility from
RADC to PL via theProgram Action
Directive for StrategicOptical Imaging
Technology.
May 1991Lt Rich Elder and Mr.Jim Mayo visit Schott
Glass Worksrepresentatives in
Germany to examineits 25,000-pound
Zerodur mirror anddetermine the
necessarymodifications thatwould have to be
made in order for it tofit the AEOS.
Aug 1991Phillips Laboratory
hosts a pre-proposalconference at KirtlandAFB to inform contract
bidders about theAEOS program and
status. Fifteenperspective vendors
attend.
Oct 1991Approval is grantedfor a foundation and
pier to support an 8-mtelescope base. The
rest of the facility(azimuth base and
mounting ring, azimuthyoke base, inner
gimbal, dome roof,and walls) was built for
a 3.67-m telescope.
Dec 1991Plans under way toship the cut mirror
blank from Germanyto the United States.
Dec 13 1991The Air Force awardsa $19.3 million dollarcontract to Contraves
USA to build theAEOS 3.67-m
telescope.
May 1992The Air Force
approves Contraves'stelescope design
during a preliminarydesign review.
May 07 1992Senator Inouye writesa letter to Secretary ofthe Air Force (SECAF)
recommending alarger facility to house
the original 3.67-mtelescope.
Jun 11 1992AEOS cost estimate is$63.9 million for an 8-
m base and $58.9million for a 3.67-m
base.
Nov 1992Installation of
Propulsion HighImpact Avionics
Technology (PHIAT),the first operationalSSA imaging system
that improvedperformance basedon post-detection
image processing, iscomplete.
1993AMOS develops an
automated videoobject detectionsystem using a
Datacube MaxVideo20image processing
system and aSPARCstation10workstation forstatistical post-
processing for the AirForce Orbital Debris
MeasurementsProgram.
1993Maui High
PerformanceComputing Center
(MHPCC) establishedto provide high
performancecomputing capabilities
to MSSC as adistributed center.
1993Preliminary Maui High
PerformanceComputing Center
(MHPCC) costsestimated at $21
million.
Jan 21 1993Workshop held to
develop aninstrumentation plan
for atmosphericscience research at
AEOS.
Jun 1993The Air Force
approves Contraves'stelescope design
during a critical designreview.
Jun 1993Work begins onmanufacturing
hardware componentsfor the AEOS
telescope.
Sep 1993
DoD awarded theUniversity of New
Mexico (UNM) a $10million per year
"cooperativeagreement" to operate
the MHPCC throughfiscal year 2000.
Dec 1993Dr. John R. Kenemuth,an optics expert from
PL, becomes thetechnical director of
AEOS.
19941.6-m dome is
automated.
1994AMOS (Africano,
Medrano, Nishimoto)captures the only 3-6
micron images ofComet Shoemaker-
Levy impactingJupiter.
1994Funds dedicated to
support HighPerformance CO2
Laser RadarSurveillance Sensor
(HI-CLASS) field testsat AMOS and upgrade
sensors to includerapid wavelength
tunability.
1994MHPCC office opens.
1994Lt Col Jim McNally,from PL, becomes
AEOS programmanager.
Jan 1994Completion of Phase0 of HI-CLASS, the
initial systemdevelopment andcheck out. This
includes a missionanalysis and theestablishment of
performancerequirements.
1994Researchers make a
major technicalbreakthrough at Maui
with the design,development, anddeployment of the
AMOS DaytimeOptical Near-Infrared
Imaging System(ADONIS), whichallows the site toprovide Air Force
customers with high-resolution post-
processed images inminutes instead of
hours.
Jul 1994
The LBD at AMOSundergoes upgrades
in support of HI-CLASS.
Jul 1994
Two 20-gigaFLOPSmachines are added
to MHPCC.
Aug 1994HI-CLASS Phase I
tests are completed,revealing that the
system exceeded allspecifications.
Aug 22 1994
PL awards a $15million, 3-year
contract to HughesDanbury Optical
Systems to designand build the adaptive
optics system.
Aug 26 1994The Hawaii
Department of Landand Natural
Resources authorizesconstruction at the top
of Haleakala.
Aug 29 1994The Army Corps ofEngineers issues a
contract for $19million to Kiewit Pacific
Inc. of Honolulu toconstruct the 41,000
sqft AEOS facility.
Sep 1994HI-CLASS Phase I
system installed at theMaui site.
Dec 1994First Observatory
Compliant Software(OCS) compliant
sensor implementedon the 1.6 m
telescope.
1995AEOS retains its R&Dmission for Air ForceMaterial Command
(AFMC), while its AFSpace Command
mission evolves intothree main areas:space intelligence,
space tracking, andspace control.
1995Image data protectionsystem delivered and
installed atUSSPACECOM
Combined IntelligenceCenter (CIC).
Jan 1995Construction begins
on the facilityfoundation and wallsto the Coudé room at
AEOS facility.
Jan 1995Prototype mountcontrol system
implemented on the1.6-m telescope.
1995AMOS and MOTIF arecollectively renamed
Maui SpaceSurveillance Site
(MSSS)
1995Transition of all
telescopes to AFSPC
Feb 1995AEOS tracker
implemented on the1.6-m telescope.
Apr 15 1995Senator Inouye
presides over theAEOS groundbreaking
ceremony thatofficially signifies the
start of the AEOSconstruction.
May 1995Data from LURE
allows scientists todetermine the
distance between theEarth and the moon to
an accuracy of lessthan 2.0 centimeters.
May 1995Experiments
conducted using theHI-CLASS CO2 from
AMOS (10,000 ft.mean sea level) to
sea level over a slantrange of 21.3 km to
emulate the airborneDifferential Absorption
(DIAL) configurationeventually flown on
the Argus C-135aircraft for the Laser
Airborne RemoteSensing (LARS)
program.
Jul 11 1995A 12-hour concretepour occurs for thefirst section of theAEOS telescope
pedestal.
Aug 1995LI-COR Biosciences
awarded theradiometer/photometer
contract to MissionResearch Corporation
for one of the threemission sensors for
AEOS with delivery setfor March 1997.
Sep 1995
Hughes AircraftCompany awarded
LWIR imager contractfor one of three AEOSmission sensors with
delivery set forDecember 1997.
Nov 1995 - 1998NASA/Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL) Near-Earth Asteroid
Tracking in operationat MSSS GEODSS.
1996AEOS requestsfunding of $17.5
million.
1996
ADONIS is operationalat the site, extending
imaging capabilities to24 hours daily.
1996AMOS participates in
Technology forAutonomousOperational
Survivability (TAOS)satellite experiment.
Feb 1996HI-CLASS Phase II,
the system oscillatorand receiver-process,
installed at MSSS.
Feb 27 1996$1 million is withheldfrom original funding
amount AEOSrequests.
Apr 06 1996First returns from a
cooperative satellite,the Geodetic EarthOrbiting Satellite-C
(GEOS-C), arecollected.
Sep 03 1996Lt Col Peter D. Keish
becomes AEOSprogram manager.
Oct 1996Approximately 95
percent of the work onAEOS is complete.
Nov 1996Small Business
Innovation Research(SBIR) contract todevelop ground
weather predictionsystem.
Dec 18 1996Contraves completes
factory testing ofAEOS telescope at itsplant in Pennsylvania.
1997The Raven small
telescope team, led byPaul Kervin, submits aRaven proposal to theAir Force Space Battle
lab.
Jan 1997Integration of Phase IIIof HI-CLASS at MSSS
complete.
1997Maj Chris Washer
becomes new AEOSProgram Manager.
1997Maj Dave Richardsappointed Branch
Chief.
Feb 03 1997The AEOS mirror
receives its reflectivecoating, a 100-
nanometer layer ofaluminum weighingonly 3 grams, at Kitt
Peak.
Feb 07 1997AEOS mirror ships to
Vancouver,Washington.
Mar 1997AEOS telescopearrives in Maui.
Apr 1997Kenemuth moves from
Albuquerque, NM toMaui to work with
Hughes Danbury onintegrating theadaptive opticssystem with the
telescope.
Apr 01 1997 - Mar31 2000
Maj Gen Richard R.Paul serves as AirForce Research
Laboratory (AFRL)Commander.
Apr 07 1997AEOS's base put in
place inside its dome.
Apr 16 1997AEOS's primary mirrorput in place inside its
dome.
Apr 22 1997AEOS's truss and
gimbal put in placeinside its dome.
Apr 22 1997Installation of the
AEOS telescope iscomplete.
Apr 22 1997Fourth heavy lift
brings the trunion,truss, and headring to
the new facility intoAEOS.
May 1997
COMSAT RSI, thedome contractor, findsthe cause of problemsin raising and lowering
the dome andprovides the actuator
replacement partsneeded to complete
the fix.
Jun 30 1997AEOS site is
complete.
Jul 1997AEOS surpasses theStarfire telescope as
DoD's largesttelescope.
Jul 05 1997AEOS dedication held.
Sep 26 1997AEOS attains its first
light image of a spaceobject, the Ring
Nebula, demonstratingits high-quality
imaging capability.
Oct 16 1997Oceanit Laboratories,an AEOS contractor,
awarded TibbetsAward for excellencein small business at
White Houseceremony.
Oct 31 1997 - Apr03 2003
Dr. R. Earl Goodserves as the AirForce Research
Laboratory/DirectedEnergy (AFRL/DE)
Director.
1998A fiber optic link is putin place between the
Maui SpaceSurveillance Complex(MSSS) and MHPCCto enable fast data
transfer between theimaging sensors atthe MSSS and the
high-speed computersat MHPCC.
1998Transition of MHPCC
from AtmosphericSciences ResearchCenter (ASRC) to
DoD SupercomputingResource Center
(DSRC).
1998AMOS operational
support for the JohnGlenn STS-95 mission
shuttle damageassessment.
1998Experiments confirm
that AEOS's five deadactuators minimally
impact itsperformance.
1998MHPCC ranked
among the top 100most powerful
supercomputer sitesin the world.
1998The Director of
Defense Researchand Engineering
selects MHPCC asone of four distributed
centers to receiveapproximately $16
million in funding overtwo years.
Apr 1998AEOS is fullyoperational.
May 1998AEOS team
anticipated thecompletion and
delivery of the LWIRsystem.
Oct 1998NASA/AFSPC Near-
Earth Object WorkingGroup recommends
NASA/JPL NEATprogram be moved to1.2m B37 telescope.
Oct 1998Air Force watchersfrom AFRL Det 5 in
Maui track andphotograph images of
the Space ShuttleDiscovery after
receiving readingsthat an exterior doorhad either opened or
fallen off.
1999Air Force Office ofScientific Research
(AFOSR) announces$2.5 million in funding
for civilianresearchers for use of
the Air Force's mostadvanced telescopes
on Haleakala.
1999
First annual AMOSTechnologies
conference with 254attendees including
the Honorable DanielInouye.
1999GEODSS telescopes
under control ofAFSPC Det 15.
1999MHPCC installs IBM's"Deep Blue" RS/6000
SP.
1999
Seven telescopes andtheir associated
hardware/facilities,which makes up MSSS,
belong to Det 15.
1999USAF contributes upto $2 million for joint
National ScienceFoundation (NSF) and
MSSS project.
Feb 1999Raytheon completesfactory acceptance
testing of AEOS opticssystem.
Feb 12 1999Textron uses
expertise developedon Maui to developnew sensors for the
U.S. Navy.
Mar 1999AEOS adaptive optics
system delivered toMaui.
Jun 1999
First light achieved onthe LWIR imager,permitting good
images of the HubbleSpace Telescope.
Jun 25 1999MHPCC initiates
efforts to procure andimplement upgradesfor 40-50 percent ofits current hardware.
Jul 29 1999Due to joint efforts of
Raytheon and theAEOS team, the
AEOS telescope andadaptive optics
systems work togetherto change the settings
on the deformablemirror to generate a
high-resolution imagefor the first time.
Aug 1999
AMOS assists UH incapturing infrared
images of the moonduring an eclipse.
Aug 03 1999AEOS contributes to
collection andinvestigation of data
from the NationalAeronautics and
SpaceAdministration's(NASA's) Lunar
Prospective satellitemission.
Sep 1999Hawaii TechnologyTrade Association
(HTTA) is launched toserve the state's
growing technologyindustry.
Sep 1999 - Sep2000
Maj Joseph Bishopserves as AFRL Det
15 Commander.
Sep 13 19991,100 to 1,200
customers throughoutthe United States,
Pacific, and Asia usethe supercomputer
since its start ofoperation in 1994.
Sep 13 1999MSSC takes on newrole of helping non-
military scientists learnabout space and
objects such as themoon, asteroids, and
nearby planets.MSSC also shares
information on whichspace objects it seesand how well it is ableto see them with these
scientists.
Sep 13 1999Students at Maui
Community Collegework with scientists to
analyze data fromHaleakala processed
through thesupercomputer.
2000
AFOSR and NSFestablish a basic
research partnershipto allow astronomersaccess to telescope
site. 2000
Raven and GEODSStransferred to AFSPC.
2000AEOS adaptive opticssystem dedicated toSSA and the system
at Starfire OpticalRange (SOR) used tosupport beam controlresearch as opposedto imaging research.
2000AEOS becomes fully
operational forsatellite imaging.
2000
UH receives contractto run MHPCC.
2000
Collaboration betweenAFRL and NASA's JPL
results in transfer ofNEAT camera fromGEODSS to 1.2-m
telescope2000
Raven telescopebecomes fully
operational at theMaui site.2000
Decision made to"resurrect" original
Baker-Nunn telescopeand retrofit it with a
state-of-the-artcharge coupleddevice (CCD).
2000The AEOS adaptive
optics system isidentified as one ofthe most advancedimaging systems in
the world for trackingand producing high-resolution images of
objects in space.
2000Management and
operation of AEOSmade responsibility of
the Air ForceResearch
Laboratory's DirectedEnergy (DE)Directorate.
2000
Transition of alltelescopes to AFMC
with exception ofGEODSS .
Feb 2000Contractors who
assembled and testedthe AEOS system and
trained Mauiemployees on itsoperation are no
longer resident on theisland.
Feb 2000First light achieved on1.4 x 1.4 deg field ofview NEAT system.
Apr 01 2000 - May31 2004
Maj Gen Dr. Paul G.Nielsen serves as
AFRL Commander.
Jul 01 2000Transition of MHPCC
from UNM to UHbegan, with 90
percent of UNM Mauiemployees
transferring to workunder the new UH
contract.
Sep 2000Second Annual AMOS
TechnologiesConference, with 265registered attendees.
Sep 2000 - Jul 2002Maj Raley Marek
serves as AFRL Det15 Commander.
Oct 2000
Site transferred fromAir Force Space
Command purview toAFRL.
Oct 01 2000
Roles of Det 15 andDet 3 are reversed.
Det 15 DirectedEnergy Beam
Improvement (DEBI)became host
organization forrunning entire Maui
site. As the newtenant unit, Det 3 isonly responsible foroperating the three
GEODSS telescopes itowns atop the
mountain.
2001Project Phoenix, aneffort to bring the
Baker-Nunn cameraback to operational
status, begins.
2001The Raven small
telescope team, led byPaul Kervin, technical
director for AMOS,receives the
prestigious Air ForceScience and
Engineering Award inthe category of
EngineeringAchievement. TheRaven consistently
provides moreaccurate data to
AFSPC than any ofthe three GEODSS
telescopes.
2001AMOS collects data onten missile flights, themost ever in a one-year period in the
history of the Maui site.2001
MHPCC develops newimaging algorithms
and softwaredesigned to enhance
clarity of opticalimages provided by
the telescopes atMSSC.
2001Number of approved
government and non-government
researcher accountsthat permit individuals
the right to useMHPCC total 910
during the first quarterof Fiscal Year 2001.
2001A new camera with a
wider field of viewmounted on the 1.6-mtelescope significantlyimproves the chances
of finding a satelliteduring its single pass
over Maui.
2001MHPCC makes
substantial progressdeveloping and
testing cutting-edgeparallel computing
software andhardware used for
advancing modelingand simulation work tosupport the warfighter.
2001AFRL Det 15 initiatesa project to developand integrate a suiteof wide field of view
(WFOV) sensorsystems.
2001Visiting group of
astronomers use theAMOS facilities to
study the atmospherearound Titan.
2001
JPL pays for time onthe 1.2-m telescopes.
2001MHPPC hosts the first
IBM LinuxSupercluster in the
DoD inventory.2001
Progress on the OCSupgrade program
allows the operation ofany telescope from
consoles located at anumber of locations atthe MSSS. This allowsthe system to operate
without downtime inthe event that theAEOS facility fails.
2001AFOSR leadership
helps to allocatefunding to AMOS in
Fiscal Year 2001 andprovides guidance onimplementation of a
basic researchprogram at AMOS.2001
MHPCC ranked as12th largest
supercomputer in theworld.
2001AFSPC certifies
Raven as acontributing sensor tothe integrated Threat
Warning/AttackAssessment network.
2001NSF provides an
additional $250,000for outside scientiststo participate in theMaui basic research
program.
2001MHPPC devotes overthree million hours of
high-speed computingtime to modeling and
simulation studiessupporting nine Air
Force and Navypriority programs.
2001Det 3 converts the
third GEODSStelescope (and its
supporting hardware)into a better-
performing telescope.
Jan 16 2001The Air Force praises
Raytheon for itssuccess in the design,fabrication, installation,and test of the AEOS
adaptive optics systemand Visible Imager.
Feb 2001Trex, a subcontractorto Boeing, is given full
responsibility tooperate and maintain
the adaptive opticssystem.
Mar 2001AMOS uses
spectrographs fordebris observation
research.
Mar 2001
AMOS AFRLcollaborates with
NASA's JPL on theNear-Earth Asteroid
Tracking (NEAT)program.
Jun 2001Renovated Baker-Nunn Telescope
scheduled to be madeavailable for viewing.
Aug 2001Telescope time at
AMOS costs anestimated $2,
000/hour.
2002AFRL/DE supportsconstruction of a
mirror coating facilityat Maui.
2002
First SSA conferenceheld in conjunction
with AMOSConference.
2002 - 2012Collaboration with theNASA Orbital Debris
Program Officelocated in Houston.The purpose is to
build the Meter-ClassAcquisition Telescope(MCAT) on Roi-Namur,
Kwajalein Atoll,Marshall Islands.
Jan 2002 - Mar2005
Maui Mesosphere andLower Thermosphere
(MauiMALT)consortium measures
sodium abundanceover Haleakala usingUniversity of Illinoislight detection and
ranging (LIDAR) (35nights of data).
Jul 2002 - Jan 2004
Lt Col Jeffrey McCannserves as AFRL Det
15 Commander.
Sep 2002Third Annual AMOS
TechnologiesConference brings
togetherapproximately 320
people.
Oct 2002
Responsibilities ofUSSPACECOM, for
which AEOS providesreal time imaging,transferred to U.S.
Strategic Command(USSTRATCOM).
Dec 2002AEOS Burst Camera
installed for observinggamma ray burst
(GRB) opticalafterglows.
2003AMOS team providesoperational support
for the Columbiaaccident investigation
(STS-107).
2003AEOS images Aegis
Ballistic MissileDefense Systemmissile intercept.
2003MHPCC serves as atesting site for hybridsmall waterplane area
craft (HYSWAC).
Jan 28 2003AMOS takes imagesof the Space Shuttle
Columbia in orbit fourdays before its
reentry.
Apr 04 2003 - Jun28 2003
Col Mark D. Stephenserves as AFRL/DE
Director.
Jun 02 200310-15 percent of
AMOS's telescopetime is allocated for
non-defenseresearch.
Jun 02 2003Lt Col Jeffrey McCann
reports that theMHPCC is managed
by AFRL.
Jun 02 2003Some of MSSS's basic
research money isapplied to look at
novel ways to performadaptive optics, one
of which is thedevelopment of non-
mechanical actuators.Some of the basic
research dollars wouldbe spent looking fornew adaptive opticstechniques for use
five to ten years fromnow.
Jun 29 2003 - Sep22 2006
Dr. L. Bruce Simpsonserves as AFRL/DE
Director.
Sep 2003Fourth Annual AMOS
TechnologiesConference, with 415registered attendees.
Sep 2003Maui HiBrite laser
demonstratesrepeatable success inhitting retro-reflector
satellites includingLageos, Explorer, and
Geos.
Oct 2003Risk assessments andstudies of the hazards
associated withmoving the 3.67-m
telescope shows thebest solution is to re-coat AEOS mirror atthe top of Haleakala.
Oct 10 2003Senate allocates an
additional $2.6 millionto install medium-wave
infrared adaptiveoptics.
2004House and Senate
authorizersrecommend a $10
million increasebeyond the $6.3
million DoD requestfor MSSS to fund the
high accuracy networkdetermination system
(HANDS).
2004NASA collaborateswith AMOS in threemain observation
programs.
2004 - 2008AEOS observes 21
gamma ray burst(GRB) notificationswith ten detected
afterglows.
2004The High-
Performance SoftwareApplications Institutefor Space Situation
Awareness isestablished at the
MHPCC.
Jan 2004 - Jul 2004
Maj Kelly Hammettserves as AFRL Det
15 Commander.
Mar 06 2004Identification of
J002E3 as an artificialsatellite is placed
within the researchinterests of AMOS.
Mar 24 2004Researchers use
results fromobservations of large
rocket bodies andsatellites in both lowerand geosynchronousEarth orbits at AMOS
to study physicalproperties of orbital
debris.
May 28 2004 - Jun04 2004
National ResearchCouncil (NRC) reviews
the effectiveness ofthe Maui Astronomy
Research Program, aprogram jointly funded
and managed byAFOSR and NSF, in
encouragingcompetitive research.
Jun 01 2004 - Nov30 2005
Maj Gen Perry L.Lamy serves as AFRL
Commander.
Jun 15 2004 - Jun30 2006
Dr. Jim F. Rikerserves as AMOS
Branch Chief.
Jul 2004Football, a Maui-to-
Starfire Optical Range(SOR) handover
experiment,demonstrates
precision satellitehandover.
Jul 04 2004 - Jul 042005
Lt Col Brent Richertserves as AFRL Det
15 Commander.
Aug 16 2004AMOS providesassistance with
Cosmos 1Development.
Sep 2004Fifth Annual AMOS
TechnologiesConference, with 485registered attendees.
Nov 20 2004Active Track program
begins, whichsupports timely
characterization, dimobject detection, and
exquisitecharacterizations of
objects in space.
2005Significant increase inthe cost of using the
large AMOS telescopemakes it impossible
for the MauiAstronomy ResearchProgram to continue.
2005
The SenateAppropriations
Committee, led byDaniel Inouye of
Hawaii, mandates astudy to assess
whether the AFRLMaui site may be more
effectively managedby the AFRL SpaceVehicles Directorate
rather than byAFRL/DE. The studyconcludes that MSSCshould remain under
AFRL/RDmanagement.
Mar 05 2005Northrop Grumman
awarded $201,000 toprovide technicalsupport to AMOS.
Jun 2005Beam Director
Telescope (BDT) roll-away enclosure
completed, allowinglow elevation
projection for CriticalMeasurements andCounter-Measures
(CMCM) 1 & 2support. The roll-awayreplaces the original
clamshell dome.
Jul 2005 - Jun 2007
Lt Col Janet Augustineserves as AFRL Det
15 Commander.
Jul 2005AEOS High-resolutionVisible and Infra-redSpectrograph (HiVIS)
spectropolarimeteroperated by UH
observes impact ofComet Tempel 1 as
part of worldwidesupport for the NASADeep Impact mission.
Aug 2005
First two of fourlaunches of theCMCM program
conducted incollaboration with
MDA at AMOS. Theselong-range
interactions andmissile complexesprovide invaluabledata collection and
analysis.
Sep 2005Sixth Annual AMOS
TechnologiesConference, with 540registered attendees.
Oct 13 2005AMOS 3.6-m
telescope acquiressome limited temporal
photometry of theGalaxy 15 satellite in
its post-launch period,establishing a
baseline photometricrecord. Galaxy 15 islater discovered tohave an anomaly.
2006Collaboration withNASA to assist in
anomaly resolution oftheir Imager for
Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global
Exploration (IMAGE)satellite, which had
stopped responding.
2006Congress
appropriates $45.9million to MSSS.
2006MHPCC increases
computationalcapability to over 60
TeraFLOPS.
Jan 01 2006 - Oct31 2007
Maj Gen Ted F.Bowlds serves as
AFRL Commander. Apr 2006
Third and fourthlaunches of theCMCM program
conducted incollaboration with
MDA at AMOS. Theseinteractions and
missile complexesprovide invaluabledata collection and
analysis.
Jun 02 2006MSSC reports workingon new algorithms tosharpen images of
space objects,improving post-image
processing.
Jun 02 2006
Manpower and moneyis allocated to improve
MSSS technology,such as actuators,
mechanical piston-likedevices that
continually reshapethe deformable mirror
to make adaptiveoptics possible, and
the system's cameras,especially the charge-
doupled devicecomponents in the
cameras.
Jun 02 2006U.S. Space Commandchanges its name and
merges with U.S.Strategic Command
(STRATCOM),causing MSSS to
provide operationaldata to STRATCOM
as well.
Jul 01 2006 - Jul 312008
Dr. Kip Kendrickserves as AMOS
Branch Chief.
Sep 10 2006 - Sep14 2006
Seventh AnnualAMOS TechnologiesConference bringstogether over 400
scientists, engineers,and technical
managers fromacademia, industry,
government, and themilitary.
Sep 22 2006 - Jan08 2007
Col Kirk M. Kloeppel(acting) serves asAFRL/DE Director.
2007AMOS engages in
multiple methods toovercome
atmospheric blurring.
2007Congress
appropriates $50.4million to MSSS.
2007With the financial
support of AMOS, anmulti-frame blind
deconvolution (MFBD)algorithm called
Physically-Constrained IterativeDeconvolution (PCID)
is efficientlyparallelized and is
able to produce imagerestorations in only a
few seconds.
Jan 08 2007 - Oct23 2010
Ms Susan J. Thorntonserves as AFRL/DE
Director.
Jun 2007 - Jun 2009
Lt Col Mark Leonardserves as AFRL Det
15 Commander.
Sep 12 2007 - Sep15 2007
Eighth Annual AMOSTechnologies
Conference bringstogether over 550participants and
includedrepresentation from
across the UnitedStates, Australia,
Bulgaria, Canada,France, Japan, Russia,
Switzerland, andTaiwan.
Sep 18 2007Senator Inouye
requests $24 million inearmarks for MSSS.
Nov 01 2007 - Jan31 2010
Maj Gen Curtis M.Bedke serves as
AFRL Commander.
Nov 2007Chinese antisatellite
weapons testhighlights the
importance of nationalsecurity space
programs, resulting inCongressional
appropriations $100million above the
President's budgetrequest for programs
aimed at improvingU.S. SSA capabilities.
2008Congress
appropriates $41.4million to MSSS.
2008President's budget
requests $5.2 millionfor MSSS, a significant
decrease.
Jun 2008 - Jun 152008
Given the possibilitythat Congress mightreduce or eliminate
add-ons in a politicalenvironment that wasincreasingly averse to
congressionalearmarks, as well as
the eventualretirement of SenatorInouye, Major General
Bedke forms a TaskForce to determinethe best way for theMaui site to end its
dependency oncongressional add-on
funding.
Aug 01 2008 - Apr24 2012
Ms Laura J. Ulibarriserves as AMOS
Branch Chief.
Aug 21 2008Mirror recoat facility
ribbon cuttingceremony.
Sep 16 2008 - Sep19 2008
Ninth Annual AMOSTechnologies
Conference bringstogether over 580
scientists, engineersand technical
managers from acrossthe nation to listen
and discuss the latestin SSA, military space
capabilities andrelated technologies.
Dec 2008General Bedke (thenAFRL/CC) chargesCol Gary Hopper toplan for the financial
and contractualchanges necessary to
make the Maui sitesolvent withoutcongressional
earmarks. Many ofthese changes
supportedrecommendations ofthe Maui Task Forceand were given to the
AFRL/RD toimplement.
Dec 06 2008The first Panoramic
Survey Telescope andRapid Response
System (Pan-STARRS) telescope,
PS1, goes online.
2009AMOS operational
support for theAstronaut Safety for
Hubble RepairMission.
2009Researchers conduct
tests on turbulencecompensation
approach using AEOStelescope.
2009Congress
appropriates $36.4million to MSSS.
2009Research paper uses
Cray XD1supercomputer
located at MHPCC toexplore the scalability
of PhysicallyConstrained IterativeDeconvolution (PCID)
as a function of thenumber of worker
processors used in aworker process.
Jul 2009 - Oct 2010
Lt Col James Greerserves as AFRL Det
15 Commander.
Sep 01 2009 - Sep04 2009
Tenth Annual AMOSTechnologies
Conference bringstogether more than
630 scientists,engineers and
technical managersfrom ten countries,
including China,Japan, Italy, and
Russia.
Sep 29 2009Senator Inouye
criticized for adding$208 million of
earmarks, including a$20 million for
Boeing's operation ofMSSS.
Feb 01 2010 - Apr30 2011
Maj Gen Dr. Ellen M.Pawlikowski serves as
AFRL Commander.
Feb 04 2010End of Active Track
program.
Mar 11 2010Control of the mount
is lost and thetelescope rotates in
azimuth until itreaches the end oftravel. The azimuthdrive motor is the
source of the failure.Over the next six
months, the problemis explored and a
method for removingthe motor isdeveloped.
May 13 2010The first PAN-
STARRS telescope,PS1, begins full-time
science observations.
May 19 2010 - Jun19 2010
AFRL/RD response toGeneral Bedke's
requests to implementsome of the financial
and contractualchanges study and
produce amodernization plan for
the Maui site. Thismodernization plan
was intended to makethe Maui site attractive
to defense andintelligence communitycustomers, making it a
more of anoperational, rather
than research, facilityand eliminating its
dependence oncongressional add-on
funding by (FiscalYear) 2017.
Aug 12 2010The Optical Society of
America selectsVenkata S.R.
Gudimetla, a seniorresearch physicist at
MSSS, as a seniormember.
Sep 14 2010 - Sep17 2010
Eleventh AnnualAMOS TechnologiesConference bringstogether over 620
experts in the in thefields of space
surveillance andoptical systems
development from allover the world.
Oct 01 2010
Lt Col Michael Harveyserves as AFRL Det
15 Commander.
Oct 24 2010
Dr. David Hardyserves as AFRL/DE
Director.
Feb 2011
DoD awards UH costreimbursement
contract.
Feb 02 2011Senator Inouye
accepts two-year banon earmark requests.
May 13 2011 - Jul29 2012
Maj Gen Dr. WilliamMcCasland serves as
AFRL Commander.
Jul 16 2011First instance of
photographed glowfrom atmospheric
pressure disturbancesgenerated by tsunami
observed, raisinghopes that the
technique could beused to predict the
arrival of futurewaves.
Aug 2011Nine months after theremoval of the brokenmotor, a new motor is
delivered andreinstalled over thecourse of several
weeks.
Sep 13 2011Twelfth Annual AMOS
TechnologiesConference, with 632registered attendees.
Sep 13 2011Senator Inouye
reaffirms his supportfor AMOS.
Jan 19 2012Hardy Modernization
Plan seeks to engagedefense customers.Under the plan, the
Maui site proposes tooffer two primary
products for defensecustomers: a WideEye optical “spacefence” and Narrow
Eye for local searchand characterizationof deep space and
dim objects.