National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The Navy and NASA are jointly preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for state lands at PMRF and KPGO
December 15, 2023

The Navy and NASA are jointly preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential impacts of real estate agreements with the State of Hawai'i, Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) for state lands at PMRF and KPGO. The Navy and NASA encourage the public to participate in this environmental review process. The Navy and NASA will be initiating a public scoping period and holding public meetings in early 2024. The public can participate during the public scoping period by providing input on the proposed real estate action and issues to be considered in development of the EIS.

View fact sheet

The National Geodetic Survey posts the results of their May 2023 local tie survey at the NASA Kōkeʻe Park Geophysical Observatory (KPGO)
October 26, 2023

The National Geodetic Survey posted the results of their May 2023 local tie survey at the NASA Kōkeʻe Park Geophysical Observatory (KPGO). The survey establishes high-precision local tie vectors between the geodetic stations and their associated reference marks. Data collection consisted of terrestrial observations with an absolute laser tracker system, a total station, and survey-grade GNSS instrumentation. The local relationships were aligned to the International Terrestrial Reference Frame at the epoch date of the survey, ITRF2020 (2023/05/13). The survey results, report, and SINEX file are available at the NGS website: https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/corbin/iss/index.shtml.

KPGO Operations Welcomes New Technician
September 18, 2023

New employee Glenn Victa has joined the KPGO operations team.

New Maser Arrives at KPGO
June 30, 2023

A new MHM-2020 model Sigma-Tau Maser (SN:371) manufactured by Microchip, Inc. was delivered to KPGO. Station operations is monitoring the hydrogen maser stabilization process which typically requires 60 – 90 days to complete. A maser is critical to operations because it maintains stable, accurate time measurements across all connected instrumentation.

NASA Celebrates 60 Years with Kōkeʻe State Park on Kauai
June 1, 2023

As a tracking station for the Mercury and Gemini programs in the early 1960s, the state of Hawaii and NASA have shared historic advancements in space science.

NGS Survey Completed
May 18, 2023

A team from the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) was on-site to provide a re-survey of the KPGO station. The survey was performed to validate a new geodetic measurement technique that provides increased precision.

Operations Team Supports DORIS Instrumentation Upgrades
April 18, 2023

KPGO operations supported the French National Space Agency for Space Studies (CNES) during installation of new equipment to support 2024 mission objectives proposed for Doppler Orbitography by Radiopositioning Integrated on Satellite (DORIS).

Operations Team Supports QZSS Equipment Installation
March 9, 2023

KPGO operations personnel supported the installation of a new Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) station, including a Met4a weather station, replacing the original QZSS station at the site.

20-Meter Antenna Completes 30 Years of Service to IVS
December 31, 2022

The 20-Meter antenna celebrated 30 years to the NASA Space Geodesy Project campaign. The system receiver is of NRAO design configured with dual polarization feed using cooled 15 K HEMT amplifiers. The antenna is of the same design and manufactured similarly as those used at Green Bank, WV. and Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. A Mark 5B+ recorder is currently used for all data recording tasks.

Successful VGOS Observation Campaign (2021)
December 31, 2021

The 12-Meter (k2) and 20-Meter (kk) antenna systems completed successful 2021 SGP mission campaigns. The 12m antenna logged 98% of weekly IVS scheduled observations. The legacy 20m system scored nearly 100% of all 42,046 scheduled scans.

Kelly Kim and Ben Domingo Retirement
October 15, 2021

Previous Station Manager and long-time KPGO technician Kelly Kim retired after 45 years of service to NASA in Kokee Park. In addition, long time KPGO technician Ben Domingo announced his retirement after 22 years of service to NASA in Kokee Park. NASA extends best wishes and congratulates both individuals on their dedication and commitment to the Space Geodesy Project.

KPGO ISO/AS9100 Audit Completed
July, 2021

Station management and operations achieved certification for compliance with ISO/AS9100 standards. Certification represents execution of a Quality Management System that consistently provided products that meet NASA regulatory requirements.

Operations Staff Return to Normal Schedule During COVID
April 15, 2021

KPGO staffing plan and shift rotation returned to normal schedule operations implementing COVID safety protocols.

Successful VGOS Observation Campaign (2020)
December 31, 2020

The 12-Meter (k2) and 20-Meter (kk) antenna systems completed successful 2020 mission campaigns despite lingering COVID-19 restrictions. Station personnel followed COVID-19 protective regulations and still managed to log 95-99% of weekly IVS scheduled observations. All major upgrades, however, are on temporary hold until COVID restrictions are relaxed per NASA safety recommendations.

Network Upgrades Completed
October 2019

KPGO completed a major site network upgrade to a new NASA-compliant configuration, hardware, and protocols. Network upgrades not only improved overall site network performance, but also data e-transfer speeds. This new data rate reduces time required to transmit all VLBI data and reduces the dependency on module shipments.

Successful VGOS Observation Campaign (2017)
December 31, 2017

The 12-Meter (k2) and 20-Meter (kk) antenna systems completed successful 2017 campaigns. Station operations participated in many VLBI experiments including IVS R4 and R1 experiments. The station also participated in the RDV, CRF, APSG, RD, and OHIG experiments. KPGO averaged two 24-hour experiments weekly along with weekday Intensive experiments. There were no major e-transfer link outages reported in 2017, providing quicker delivery of INT1 data to the WACO Correlator and better latency results.

12-Meter ISI Antenna (k2) Joins the IVS Observation Schedule
April 2017

Following commissioning tests and a successful ORR, the VGOS 12-Meter radio telescope officially joined the VGOS Observing Schedule. Along with the 20-Meter system, KPGO operations now support scheduled observations on two NASA-managed antenna systems.

New 12-Meter Antenna Passes Operational Readiness Review
March 2017

KPGO VGOS 12-Meter radio telescope passed the operational readiness review (ORR) following installation activities starting in May 2015. Site operations are planning to join the VGOS Observation Schedule in April 2017.

New antenna preparing for graduation and entering the VLBI workforce
May 13, 2016

It is graduation season, and the new VGOS 12-m antenna at KPGO is nearly ready to transition to operations!

The freshman antenna arrived in September 2015, understandably anxious about that first semester. With a solid foundation and pedestal to stand on, she spread an intricate web of beams and struts, and topped her top with a sea of reflecting panels. Under the long-shadow of the 20-meter, the next generation antenna continued to blossom and grow.

The VGOS signal chain installed in January 2016 opened her eyes to new sights and possibilities. She quickly learned to collaborate with her older siblings across the ocean at Westford and GGAO. The three antennas can now routinely observe in broadband continuously for 24 hours!

With the senior 20-meter antenna about to have open heart surgery on its main bearing, it was important to pass the geodetic knowledge to the new generation as quickly as possible. A series of observing sessions provided the link at the millimeter-level between the two KPGO antennas. The KPGO handoff was successful and the 20-meter antenna is now getting much needed repairs.

The new antenna is now ready to reach out to the rest of the world and has started learning new languages. A series of compatibility test were performed with several European stations that are also anxious to join the VGOS network.

With just a few more tweaks and tests, our young antenna is ready to graduate and join the greater VLBI workforce. We expect to hold an Operational Readiness Review within the next two months. With the intensive commissioning activities coming to an end, this will be the final entry to this blog. Please continue to visit the SGP website for news and updates. Its been fun sharing our progress with you.

-- Larry Hilliard, Pedro Elosegui, Stephen Merkowitz, and the rest of the SGP team.

Historic handoff at KPGO from a metaphorical 12-m antenna standing guard and seeking out quasars sky-wide while legacy 20-m antenna gets needed repairs to her azimuth bearing, to play a reduced role during her extended life, and making way for a new generation.

Connecting the old with the new
February 29, 2016

The legacy 20m VLBI antenna at KPGO will undergo a major refurbishment later this year. The procedure involves lifting the main reflector off its bearing. The time lapsed video below shows what was involved in lifting the much smaller 12 meter reflector back in October 2015. In the next few months, the 20 meter reflector will be lifted as well using mechanisms to enable a life extending bearing replacement.

The bearing replacement will change the antenna "reference" location that has been established by VLBI over the past decade. It is vital that we do not lose continuity at the site, so in addition to the precise ground survey that was performed earlier this year, we are making a series of "short-baseline" VLBI observations using both the old and the new antennas at KPGO to establish the tie between these two antennas. These observations will also be an excellent test of the "mixed mode" technique that makes the broadband and the legacy S/X networks compatible. The continuity of geodetic legacy and broadband network locations at KPGO can then be re-established after the bearing replacement with verifiable before and after tests.

Connecting to the Past – Present Network, Transitioning to the Future
February 19, 2016

The first fringes recently obtained with the 12-meter antenna marked the dawn of the VGOS broadband era. But there is also an important linkage to the existing “legacy S/X” VLBI network that is right next door and connected around the world. Indeed, the 20-meter antenna at KPGO, which is currently configured to observe with the legacy S-band and X-band receivers that are operational at VLBI geodetic sites worldwide, can also form baselines with the new broadband systems under a “mixed-mode” configuration that makes the broadband and the legacy S/X networks compatible.

On February 12, the KPGO operational team run a mixed-mode fringe test with the KPGO 12-meter and 20-meter antennas configured in broadband and legacy S/X modes, respectively. The mixed mode produced the first fringes thus establishing a short baseline that ties over 20 years of operation with the legacy VLBI network to the broadband VGOS network of the future.

First Light!
February 17, 2016

Having completed the installation of the signal chain, the team turned the antenna toward the sky on February 1 and observed peaks on Taurus A, Orion and 3C84! On February 5, we ran two coordinated sessions observing several strong radio sources using the new KPGO antenna and the antennas at Westford in Massachusetts and at the Goddard Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory (GGAO) in Maryland. Each session used a different pointing model for KPGO to maximize the chance of success. Once completed, the data from a selected scan (1749+096) from all three sites were transferred over the Internet to the correlator at MIT Haystack for cross-correlation and fringe search. Fringes for the Westford-GGAO baseline were found quickly, as one would expect, given the practice and experience gained with this VGOS-prototype baseline over the last year. Despite the long baselines to KPGO, the search to KPGO was not overly taxing either because the KPGO site position and maser behavior of KPGO (both derived from the KPGO 20m model) that are required as a priori model in the correlator were accurate enough to help narrow the fringe search to a relatively small window, hence expediting the process.

This represents a major milestone for the Space Geodesy Project and is the world's first 3-way broadband VLBI measurement. It was also the first long baseline broadband VLBI measurement, demonstrating the viability of the next-generation antenna for improving determination the Terrestrial Reference Frame and Earth Orientation Parameters.

Installation and Integration of Signal Chain Frontend Components at KPGO
February 01, 2016

The KPGO Signal Chain integration team arrived at KPGO on January 18 and immediately inspected the frontend hardware and tools, as well as the personal protection equipment necessary for operating safely in the antenna frontend environment. The team then proceeded to installation, integration, and verification of the frontend subsystem. The visuals below illustrate some of the subsystems of the assembled frontend such as the positioner, payload, hub electronics, vacuum pump, uninterrupted power supply, compressor, post-dewar electronics sled, and the monitor and control infrastructure.

Arrival, Installation and Integration of the Signal Chain Backend Components at KPGO
January 21, 2016

All the Signal Chain equipment arrived safely at KPGO! The Signal Chain integration team travelled to Hawaii and began equipment checkout on January 8. They verified that nothing got damaged during shipping and proceeded with the backend installation, integration, and verification. Shown below are the configuration and pictures of the assembled backend.

KPGO Signal Chain System Integration/Pre-Shipment Reviews
January 05, 2016

The signal chain development team at MIT Haystack Observatory hosted and passed system integration and pre-shipment reviews in Westford, Massachusetts, on December 15th and 16th. Integration and testing of all signal chain subsystems were reviewed including the recently completed system noise temperature tests on the frontend components, the zero-baseline tests between the KPGO backend temporarily located at the Westford site and the complete Westford system, and the plans for continuing testing the cable delay measurement system at Westford after the frontend and backend are shipped to KPGO.

Reviewing also included the horizontal installation of the frontend positioner (FEP) hardware into the 12-meter antenna feed cone. This procedure was re-engineered (described in the December 10 post) because of differences in the antenna hub from the prototype 12-meter antenna and FEP at GGAO. The end result, which is a much safer procedure, uses a trolley that minimizes the confined space and fall hazards with the VGOS stations, and makes the hub a more comfortable working environment.

KPGO Signal Chain Accessibility
December 10, 2015

Early in the development process of the KPGO station, the team identified several accessibility and safety issues associated with the planned installation of the front end positioner. The primary issue related to the confined space in the hub and lessons learned from the vertical installation of the GGAO front end positioner. The team came up with a great solution for installing the positioner in a horizontal position that is much safer for the personnel than the originally planed vertical installation.

KPGO Signal Chain Frontend Integration and Outdoor Testing
November 23, 2015

The signal chain frontend is a delicate piece of radio-frequency engineering. Heretofore, components development, characterization, and testing have been done in controlled indoor environments such as the shield room at the MIT Haystack Observatory and the anechoic chamber at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Recently, the completed KPGO frontend was taken outdoors for comprehensive radio testing under realistic open-sky conditions. The frontend tests exercised all subsystem components but the horizontal positioner, which largely provides mechanical coupling to the antenna. The tests confirmed high-quality measurements in the high-frequency band. Despite the radio-quiet time enforced during the tests at Haystack, radio signals from mobiles and other wireless devices are ubiquitous in the low-frequency band. Suitably, signal interference is known to be less of an issue at the KPGO site.

KPGO Signal Chain Backend Development
November 02, 2015

The signal chain development team at MIT Haystack Observatory has passed a key milestone in completing the full backend integration in their electronics laboratory. The backend subsystem involved the RF distributor, up-down converters, digitizers, and recorders. The completed backend subsystem has now been transported to and integrated at the Westford station, where a comprehensive series of KPGO-like observing and validation tests will be conducted, including zero-baseline tests side-by-side with the existing Westford broadband geodetic system.

KPGO Antenna System Acceptance Tests
October 12, 2015

The KPGO Antenna passed all the System Acceptance Tests on October 11, 2015! Congratulations to the Intertronics Systems, Inc. team and the KPGO staff for completing the installation! The keys to the antenna were handed over to the KPGO staff and the antenna is now under Field System control.

Videos from Antenna and Signal Chain development
October 08, 2015

Back in June 2015, the KPGO Antenna development team conducted a series of tests at their factory in Quebec. After those tests, a video of the operating antenna was made by the KPGO Signal Chain development team who were visiting to plan the installation of the front end positioner in the hub. A video of the front end traveling from the maintenance position to the observation position in the feed cone will bring the KPGO antenna to life in 2016 when these subsystems are integrated and tested.

Sub reflector and Feedcone Photogrammetry and Preparation for the Antenna System Acceptance Tests
October 08, 2015

This week at KPGO the final preparations were underway for the Antenna System Acceptance Test (SAT) which repeat many of the factory acceptance tests done in Quebec. One capability that will be available for the SAT that is new since the FAT, is the use of the hexapod to make fine adjustments to the subreflector position. The installation and operation of the hexapod will further automate the fine adjustment procedure to be done with the signal chain in January. Photogrammetry was repeated this week with the hexapod fine tuning the subreflector position at several elevation angles and measurements of the feed cone position sag. The SAT will be conducted with a single hexapod adjustment that works best over all elevation angles from horizon to zenith.

Reflector Lift
October 02, 2015

For the last two weeks the Kokee Park Geophysical Observatory (KPGO) has been a two-shift operation where the ISI 12m antenna installation team has been working with the Harris operations team to shoot distributed reflectors from various angles in the near field of the main reflector. The reflector surface accuracy error RMS was .005" after the ninth iteration of photogrammetry shots. On October 1st, the 12 meter reflector was lifted by crane to its position on the antenna pedestal and retained the RMS surface accuracy achieved in the tests taken and adjustments made on the ground. Photogrammetry continues and the surface accuracy will be measured from various elevation angles.

At Haystack Observatory, final plans are being practiced for the installation as well as maintenance procedures of the front end positioner inside the feed cone of the antenna. The analysis of quad ridge flared horn (QRFH) feedhorn antenna patterns taken at MIT - Lincoln Laboratory are also nearly ready for release.

Signal Chain Front-end Integration at MIT Haystack Observatory
October 02, 2015

The VGOS signal chain front end includes a number of mechanical and electrical elements such as the antenna feed, receiver payload, receiver cryogenics and vacuum, and calibration and monitoring systems, all housed inside a mechanical positioner that fits inside the KPGO feed cone. Fabrication of the signal chain front end has been completed, and the system is currently going through integration and testing in preparation for shipping to Hawaii.

Signal Chain Introduction
September 25, 2015

MIT Haystack Observatory has been at the forefront of VLBI technology development since the birth of the technique many decades ago. The broadband signal chain of the new KPGO radio telescope is a major contribution that results from this development. The KPGO signal chain builds on the successful designs already implemented at the GGAO 12-m and the Westford 18-m telescopes. This two-element prototype of a VGOS baseline is the only fully functional broadband VGOS system completed to date.

The signal chain encompasses a series of novel VGOS components along which the incoming radio signal propagates once it enters the telescope, from the delicate cryogenically-cooled feed and receiver up in the antenna front end, through sensitive coaxial and fiber optic cables that connect the front and back ends, to advanced sampling and recording subsystems down in the back end. If the fully-steerable VGOS antenna structure can be viewed as a mechanical "listening ear," the signal chain is its electronics "beating heart."

The VGOS signal is broadband because it spans a bandwidth of over 10 GHz, with microwave frequencies ranging between approximately 2 GHz (15-cm wavelength) and 14 GHz (2-cm wavelength). The signal, which is analog in the front end, is transmitted via cables to the back end, where carefully selected sections of the entire broadband are digitized. To meet the stringent accuracy requirements of VGOS, the signal chain also incorporates a highly sophisticated calibration system that tracks the various delays introduced by each component along the entire broadband signal path. Interferometry is ultimately realized when the signals recorded at KPGO and other broadband VGOS-compliant systems, independently but simultaneously, are brought together for complex correlation and post-processing, and geodetic analysis and beyond.

Antenna Team Attaches Reflector Panels
September 18, 2015

Throughout the week at Kokee Park, the antenna team turned their attention to re-installing reflector panels that were carefully handled after the factory acceptance test (FAT) in Montreal. All of the adjustments were recorded after the photogrammetry measurements so that the re-test in Hawaii will be faster than the initial adjustments.

Antenna Team begins reflector assembly
September 11, 2015

Intertronics Solutions, Inc. (ISI) worked together with the KPGO operations team on the installation of the 12-meter antenna. The elevation counterweights were attached, and the encoder and limit switches were tested. A lot of progress was made in assembling the reflector dish. The data lines were also connected to the antenna and the operations table.

Start of Antenna Installation
September 04, 2015

The installation of the 12-meter Intertronics Solutions, Inc. (ISI) antenna at KPGO began on September 1, 2015. The antenna passed its Factory Acceptance Test in June 2015 and was disassembled and shipped from ISI’s facility in Canada to Hawaii. Shown below is the removal of the antenna pedestal from its shipping container and its vertical installation on the concrete pad. ISI will continue to assemble the antenna over the next few weeks and perform a Site Acceptance Test of the antenna in October.