The Kauai Test Facility (KTF) is a rocket launch range in Hawaii operated by Sandia National Laboratories for the Department of Energy. The facilities and personnel support a variety of missions including research and development, operational training, and test and evaluation. To ensure maximum use of the facilities, Sandia conducts launch projects for other organizations or government agencies on a noninterference basis. Beginning in 1961, KTF has a long history of success and experience with a multitude of rocket launch operations and has supported over 400 missions.
KTF provides a high-quality integrated facility for conducting a wide range of test operations. These operations support materials research, components development, advanced reentry-vehicle technologies, water entry-and-recovery systems, missile defense testing, and on-board sensor research-and-development testing. Resources at KTF are available for assembling, testing, and launching instrumented rockets and rocket payloads; receiving, recording, and processing telemetry; and data transfer with remote air- and ship-borne instrumentation platforms.
KTF is a tenant and an integral element of the U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), the world’s largest test range (underwater, surface, air, and space assets). PMRF complimentary and supplementary capabilities include flight safety, radar tracking, world time reference, telemetry reception, communication, and weather data. Located on the westernmost extension of the Hawaiian island of Kauai, our location offers excellent weather conditions and flight corridors for preparation and flight activities. KTFs assets, collaboration with PMRF, and location provide an ideal and unique option for many U.S. rocket-borne experiments.
Facilities, Operations, and Unique Offerings
KTF offers the following facilities and equipment:
A vertical launch complex with missile service tower
20K- and 7.5K-rail launchers
Four Secure, climate-controlled assembly buildings used for
Payload buildup, checkout, and control
Rocket motor processing and checkout
A launch operations building including
a central computing facility
computer-controlled countdown
Interrange and intrarange communications
In-flight telemetry data receipt, processing, recording, and display
Real-time trajectory data receipt, processing, and display
Wind data collection and analysis
An extensive array of still and high-speed documentation photometrics
Physical and information security coordination
Range safety analysis and support
Quick-look data playback
Office space / conference rooms / network access for mission personnel
KTF provides the following location-enabled operations:
Partnership with the Pacific Missile Range Facility
A broad, unrestricted, and unpopulated ocean impact area
Joint experiments with launches from other Ranges or orbiting objects
Experiments on phenomena occurring in the upper atmosphere and in space over the mid-Pacific
High-velocity water impact and underwater trajectory experiments
Over 125 acres of land surrounded by PMRF and the Pacific Ocean
KTF has these unique offerings:
Sandia's immense technical-support infrastructure, including reach-back to the labs 10K+ staff members
Rocket, Range, and Sensor expertise all under one roof
Multiple and simultaneous launches
On-site diagnostics dedicated / on the fly configurable to individual mission
Experienced personnel for executing smooth and cost efficient operations
Partnerships with government agencies and industry partners