Shemya (nonfiction)

Shemya or Simiya (Aleut: Samiyax̂[1]) is a small island in the Semichi Islands group of the Near Islands chain in the Aleutian Islands archipelago southwest of Alaska, at 52°43′27″N 174°07′08″ECoordinates: 52°43′27″N 174°07′08″E. It has a land area of 5.903 sq mi (15.29 km2), and is about 1,200 miles (1,900 km) southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. It is 2.73 miles (4.39 km) wide and 4.32 miles (6.95 km) long.

History

The Russian vessel Saint Peter and Paul wrecked at Shemya in 1762. Most of the crew survived.

A United States Air Force radar, surveillance, and weather station and aircraft refueling station, including a 10,000 ft (3 km) long runway, opened on Shemya in 1943 and is still in operation. The station, originally Shemya Air Force Base or Shemya Station, had 1,500 workers at its peak in the 1960s. In 1956, Northwest Airlines leased Shemya Island from the U.S. government to use as a refueling station on their North Pacific route. According to Northwest's website, that made them "the first airline to operate its own airport." Northwest was operating Lockheed Constellation L-1049G model propliners on its "Orient Express" service between the U.S. and Asia in 1956.

The United States Air Force airborne intelligence platforms "Cobra Ball", "Rivet Amber," and "Rivet Ball" flew intercontinental ballistic missile tracking flights from this island near the Soviet Union, especially the Kamchatka Peninsula, during the height of the Cold War. Observations from Shemya were normally the first radar reports of new Soviet satellite launches from Tyuratam (Baikonur) in the early days of satellite tracking; see Project Space Track.

The station was renamed the Eareckson Air Station in 1993 to honor USAF Colonel William O. Eareckson, who had commanded bomber operations during the Aleutian Campaign of World War II.

The station still operates as a radar station and aircraft refueling station with a staff of about 180 people. The 2000 census reported an official resident population of 27 persons on the island.

One of the most recognizable features of the island is the COBRA DANE radar system. This radar was built in 1976 and brought on-line in 1977 for the primary mission of intelligence gathering in support of verification of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) II agreement.

Shemya was an important outpost during the Cold War. As part of Project Bluegrass, the White Alice Communications System provided a vital tropospheric scatter communications link to the mainland during the early-1960s to late-1970s. Its two 120 ft parabolic reflectors and 50 kW transmitter output bridged the nearly 400 mile gap to Adak, Alaska.

China Eastern Airlines Flight 583 made an emergency landing at the island's airbase in April 6, 1993.

Delta Flight 128 made an emergency landing on the island's airbase on December 24, 2018, when the Boeing 767-300ER developed engine problems.

See also

• Baikonur Cosmodrome (nonfiction) - a spaceport located in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to Russia. The Cosmodrome is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. The spaceport is located in the desert steppe of Baikonur, about 200 kilometres (124 mi) east of the Aral Sea and north of the river Syr Darya. It is near the Tyuratam railway station and is about 90 metres (300 ft) above sea level. Baikonur cosmodrome and the city of Baikonur celebrated the 63rd anniversary of the foundation on 2 June 2018. The spaceport is currently leased by the Kazakh Government to Russia until 2050, and is managed jointly by the Roscosmos State Corporation and the Russian Aerospace Forces.
• Cobra Dane (nonfiction) - a PESA phased array radar installation operated by Raytheon for the United States Air Force at Eareckson Air Station on the island of Shemya, Aleutian Islands, Alaska. This radar system was built in 1976 and brought on-line in 1977 for the primary mission of intelligence gathering in support of verification of the SALT II arms limitation treaty. Its single face radar with a 29 m (95 ft) diameter phased array radar antenna 52.7373°N 174.0914°E faces the Kamchatka Peninsula and Kura Test Range. COBRA DANE operates in the 1215–1400 MHz band.
• William O. Eareckson (nonfiction) - Colonel William "Eric" Olmstead Eareckson (May 30, 1900 – October 26, 1966) was an U.S. Army Air Force combat commander during the World War II Battle of the Aleutian Islands.
• Eareckson Air Station (nonfiction) - a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands. The airport was closed as an active Air Force Station on 1 July 1994. However, it is still owned by the USAF and is operated by the USAF 611th Air Support Squadron at Elmendorf AFB for refueling purposes. It also serves as a diversion airport for civilian aircraft. The base previously hosted the AN/FPS-17 and AN/FPS-80 radars and since 1977 the more powerful AN/FPS-108 COBRA DANE phased-array radar.
• White Alice Communications System (nonfiction) - a United States Air Force telecommunication network with 80 radio stations constructed in Alaska during the Cold War. It used tropospheric scatter for over-the-horizon links and microwave relay for shorter line-of-sight links. Sites were characterized by large parabolic, tropospheric scatter antennas as well as smaller microwave dishes for point to point links. The system connected remote Air Force sites in Alaska, such as Aircraft Control and Warning (AC&W), Distant Early Warning Line (DEW Line) and Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS), to command and control facilities and in some cases it was used for civilian phone calls. The system was advanced for its time, but became obsolete within 20 years following the advent of satellite communications.

Fiction cross-reference

• Gnomon algorithm
• Gnomon Chronicles

External links

• Shemya @ Wikipedia