The Malabar Transmitter Annex is currently used as an auxiliary communications annex in support of space activities for NASA and the U.S. Space Force. The facility is under the control of the 45th Space Wing; security is administered by Patrick Space Force Base. Originally established as the Malabar Naval Outer Landing Field as a naval airfield in 1943 within Brevard County, Florida to augment what was then Naval Air Station Melbourne. The airfield, which had four runways, was decommissioned as an active airfield in the mid-1950s.

History

The airfield was built by the U.S. Navy during World War II as Naval Outer Landing Field Malabar, one of two satellite airfields for then-Naval Air Station Melbourne, which conducted advanced flight training in North American SNJs, Grumman F4F Wildcats and Grumman F6F Hellcats.[1]

The NOLF Malabar airfield was constructed early in 1943 but was not depicted on the January 1943 Miami Sectional Chart.[2] Early depictions of the field include USDA aerial photos from February 24, 1943, which show four unfinished paved airfield runways. On April 22, 1943, NOLF Malabar had four asphalt runways.[3] The earliest chart depiction which has been located of the Malabar airfield was on the July 1943 Orlando Sectional Chart.[4] It depicted "Malabar (Navy)" as an auxiliary airfield. It was an active military airfield, labeled "Malabar (Navy)", on the 1949 Orlando Sectional Chart,[5] and described as having a 4,000 feet (1,200 m) hard-surface runway.

The airfield was closed in 1954. It was listed as an active airfield on the August 1954 Orlando Sectional Chart, but the Aerodromes table on the chart listed its status as "Closed, leased for grazing". It was subsequently transferred to the U.S. Air Force as a non-flying facility in the mid-1950s, placed under the administration of the then-Air Force Missile Test Center (AFMTC) at nearby Patrick Air Force Base, and fenced from public access. It was subsequently renamed the Malabar Transmitter Annex in support of Department of Defense and National Aeronautics and Space Administration manned and unmanned space launch operations.

The Malabar Test Facility, a tenant activity of the then-Air Force Systems Command, was opened in the early 1960s to study lasers and laser effects. Subsequently, it was transferred to the Space and Missile Systems Organization in 1978, the Air Force Space Command's Air Force Space Technology Center in 1984, and the Air Force Systems Command's (later the Air Force Materiel Command's) Phillips Laboratory in 1990. By the mid-1990s, the test facility's activities were relocated to Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico under the aegis of the Air Force Research Laboratory and the test facility at Malabar was inactivated.

The former Malabar airfield property was erroneously labeled "Lynbrook Park" on a 2007 street map.

The Malabar facility continues to be used for periodic military ground training activities by Space Launch Delta 45 (SLD 45) and the Air Force Reserve Command's 920th Rescue Wing (920 RQW) at Patrick SFB and various U.S. Army Reserve and the Florida Army National Guard (FLARNG) units in Florida.[6][7][8][9]

In December 2021, following discussions with the former 45th Space Wing and current SLD 45, it was also announced that the Florida Army National Guard would construct a new 85,000 square foot FLARNG Readiness Center on 55 acres in the north central portion of the Malabar Transmitter Annex with initial site work estimated to begin in late 2023.[10]

Operations

There were previously almost a dozen antenna towers around the facility, as well as log periodics. The primary function was to act as a remote transmitter site to support operations for the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. As of June 1, 2010 all the large antennas have been removed. Only one tower remains for microwave communications.[11]

The facility remains under military security with an annual firearms drill held on site for security personnel.[12] As a military installation, it remains under the control of Space Launch Delta 45 (formerly the 45th Space Wing) and security is administered from Patrick Space Force Base.



28°1′17.41″N 80°40′48.20″W / 28.0215028°N 80.6800556°W / 28.0215028; -80.6800556

References

  1. ↑ "Abandoned and Little Known Airfields". Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  2. ↑ according to Chris Kennedy
  3. ↑ "Aerial photographs of Brevard County - Flight 2C (1943)". ufdc.ufl.edu.
  4. ↑ Chris Kennedy
  5. ↑ according to Chris Kennedy
  6. ↑ ESC, 143d (2015-01-23), Commanding generals 641st RSG in action, retrieved 2023-09-11{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ "Rescue Wing personnel bolster combat capabilities". 920th Rescue Wing. 2021-01-12. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  8. ↑ "Defenders conduct pre-deployment field training". 920th Rescue Wing. 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  9. ↑ "Rescue aircrews undergo SERE training". 920th Rescue Wing. 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  10. ↑ "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Military Budget Proposal to Guard Florida's Future". Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  11. ↑ "OL-AG Malabar Test Facility Users Manual". www.fas.org. Archived from the original on 2001-11-21.
  12. ↑ Shortt, Tim (August 24, 2017). "Locked and loaded". Florida Today. Melbourne, Florida. pp. 11A.
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