In late 1998, Kodiak Island, a remote island in southern Alaska, will become the nation’s first operational rocket launch facility that is not owned and operated by the federal government. Intent on capturing a share of the commercial polar launch market, Alaska has laid out a plan for a new low-cost state of the art spaceport that will be run entirely by a local authority similar to that used at airports. 

In order to receive the required launch site license, the spaceport must produce a comprehensive range safety and communications system that performs much of the functions of the billion-dollar range systems found in California and Florida. The challenge was to design a system that provided those functions at a fraction of the cost traditionally required.