Alaska University to Take Over HAARP
The Air Force will transfer the facility near Gakona to the university early next month, said Othana Zuch, an Air Force spokesperson, on Tuesday.
The transfer of the facility and equipment, which researchers use to probe the atmosphere, will come at no cost to the university, said Marmian Grimes, UAF spokesperson.
Known for its system of 180 radio antennas, construction of the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program facility began in 1993, with construction funding secured by the late U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens. The facility is designed to study the Earth’s ionosphere. Two years ago, the U.S. Air Force had completed its research there and was preparing to shut it down permanently, Grimes said.
The university reached out to the researchers around the world and found a lot of interest in keeping the operation alive, Grimes said. “There are only three like it in the world, and HAARP is considered by many to be the very best one,” she said.
