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Onizuka Air Force Station
Sunnyvale, California in U.S.
Onizuka AFS in 2009
Onizuka AFSShow map of CaliforniaOnizuka AFSShow map of the United States
Coordinates	37°24′17.5″N 122°1′43.5″W / 37.404861°N 122.028750°W / 37.404861; -122.028750
Type	U.S. Air Force station
Site information
Owner	Department of Defense
Operator	U.S. Air Force
Controlled by	Air Force Space Command
Condition	Closed
Website	Official website (archived)
Site history
Built	1960 (1960) (as Sunnyvale AFS)
In use	1960 – 30 September 2010 (2010-09-30)
Fate	Demolished (2014)

Onizuka Air Force Station or Onizuka AFS was a U.S. Air Force installation in Sunnyvale, California, at the intersection of State Route 237 and North Mathilda Avenue. It operated from 1960 to 2010.

One of its distinguishing feature was Building 1003, known locally as the Blue Cube and the "Cube" given its shape, color, and lack of windows. The station's other distinguishing features were its three primary parabolic dish antennas, used for communication with remote tracking stations used to control military satellites; these antennas were named Sun East, Sun West, and Sun 3.

History

In the United States space program's formative stages, Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) contracted with the Philco Ford division of Ford Motor Company to provide interim operational facilities at its Palo Alto, California, location. Operation began in the late 1950s. By 1958, the US Air Force sought a permanent home, with larger facilities. Ultimately, the Air Force purchased from Lockheed Corporation about 19 acres (7.7 hectares) of land, which included Lockheed Building 100 and was named Sunnyvale Air Force Station. Construction of the station's original facilities was completed in 1960. More structures were built as operations expanded.

The station was home to the AFSC operational unit known as the Air Force Satellite Test Center (STC, colloquially called the "stick"), and other non-AFSC operational organizations. By 1979, the Air Force Satellite Test Center was renamed the Air Force Satellite Control Facility.

In 1986 the base was renamed in honor of Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Ellison S. Onizuka, an astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986.

Onizuka AFS and the Air Force Satellite Control Facility were transferred from Air Force Systems Command to Air Force Space Command and operated by the 21st Space Operations Squadron, a geographically separated unit (GSU) of the 50th Space Wing. The non-AFSC operational organizations remained under their respective commands.

Closure

When the station was opened in 1960, the Sunnyvale area was rural and the station was predominantly surrounded by orchards. By the late 1970s, the region had become Silicon Valley and the station's physical security vulnerabilities became apparent. AFSC therefore planned the Consolidated Space Operations Center (CSOC), which would lie several miles east of Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the to-be-built Falcon Air Force Station (later renamed Schriever Air Force Base). Spacecraft operations would be split between the two locations and each location would serve as a backup to the other. To maintain this redundancy, when Onizuka AFS was selected for closure by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, the Air Force determined to move Onizuka's remaining operational units to the new Ellison Onizuka Satellite Operations Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Realignment of Onizuka Air Force Station was recommended and accepted as part of the 1995 round of the Base Realignment and Closure Program. The 750th Space Group was to be inactivated and its functions moved to Falcon AFS. Detachment 2 of the Space and Missile Systems Center would move to Falcon AFB and Kirtland AFB, New Mexico; some other, undisclosed tenants would stay in the existing facilities for some time. On May 13, 2005, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recommended closing the Onizuka Air Force Station in Sunnyvale as part of a fifth round of military base closures and re-sizing. The date by which the realignment and closure must be completed was September 15, 2011.

In April 2007, the mission of the National Reconnaissance Office at Onizuka AFS ended after 46 years.

Upon completion of this transition, Onizuka AFS was ceremonially closed on July 28, 2010, and officially closed on September 30, 2010.

Demolition

In April 2014, demolition of the site began. 9 acres (3.6 hectares) of the land was earmarked for conversion to educational space operated by the Foothill–De Anza Community College District. 4.4 acres (1.8 hectares) of the land was to be used by the Department of Veterans Affairs. 1 acre (0.40 hectares) was added to Sunnyvale's existing Fire Station 5 and was subject to a land swap with a developer to relocate Fire Station 5, upgrade it to full service capabilities, and support a shooting range for public safety personnel training. The remaining 5 acres (2.0 hectares) parcel is now owned by the City of Sunnyvale for an unspecified future use.

See also

• List of former United States Air Force installations

References

1. "Onizuka Air Force Station Local Redevelopment Authority Redevelopment Plan (Draft)" (PDF). City of Sunnyvale. 19 November 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
2. "Former Onizuka Air Force Station".
3. "Onizuka". www.afcec.af.mil.
4. "Onizuka AFS closes, operations move to Vandenberg". Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
5. "Onizuka Air Station, California". Air Force Real Property Agency. Archived from the original on May 10, 2006. Retrieved May 5, 2006.
6. "Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) of Onizuka Air Force Station (AFS) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)". City of Sunnyvale, California. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
7. "Mission accomplished for NRO at Onizuka AFS". 21st Space Operations Squadron. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
8. "Wrecking crews demolish iconic 'Blue Cube'". San Jose Mercury News. 16 April 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
9. "Onizuka AFS Land Areas" (PDF). City of Sunnyvale. Retrieved April 21, 2014.

External links

• Official website (archived November 2008)

v t e Space Operations Command
Air Forces	Fourteenth (Strategic)
Centers	Space and Missile Systems Space Innovation and Development 614th Air and Space Operations
Bases	Buckley Los Angeles Patrick Peterson Schriever Thule Vandenberg
Stations	Cape Canaveral Cape Cod Cavalier Cheyenne Mountain Clear Eldorado (closed) Kaena Point New Boston Onizuka (closed)
Space wings	21st 30th 45th 50th 310th 460th
Air Base groups	61st 821st Air Base Group
Squadrons	Command and Control 1st 2d 3d 4th 55th Mobile 119th 153d 222d 721st Mobile Space Control 1st 4th 16th 20th 25th 76th 380th Space Launch 1st 2nd 3d Space Launch Squadron 4th 5th Space Operations 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 19th 21st 22d 23d 111th 148th AFSPC Space Warning 2nd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 137th 213th Others 26th Space Aggressor (AFRC) 527th Space Aggressor (ACC) 3d Space Communications 50th Space Communications 850th Space Communications 1st Space Development Squadron 2d Space Development Squadron 3d Space Development Squadron 3rd Space Experimentation 1st Space Surveillance 3d Space Surveillance 5th Space Surveillance 1st Air and Space Test 2d Test Operations Squadron 3d Space Test Squadron 4th Space Test Squadron 55th Space Weather

• Buildings and structures in Santa Clara County, California
• Installations of the United States Air Force in California
• Formerly Used Defense Sites in California
• Sunnyvale, California
• Military installations established in 1960
• Military installations closed in 2010
• 1960 establishments in California
• 2010 disestablishments in California