The Air Force plans to improve its multimillion-dollar space surveillance site on top of Haleakala on Maui, including the addition of a laser that creates a "guide star" enabling a clearer astronomical view of objects.

The Frequency Addition Source of Optical Radiation will be established within the existing footprint of the Maui Space Surveillance Complex, according to a draft environmental assessment.

The proposed draft, submitted to the state Office of Environmental Quality Control, is available for public review and comment. The deadline to submit comments is March 25.

The Air Force uses the Maui Space Surveillance Complex as a test site for sensor and laser research and to identify and track objects near Earth and in deep space, in part to help avoid collisions with satellites and space labs.

The Air Force said two of its three buildings are 50 years old.

"The MSSC is an integral part of the space monitoring network of the U.S. Air Force," Air Force spokeswoman Othana Zuch said.

Zuch said the visibility of the laser, which will be in operation for about 80 nights a year, becomes difficult at a distance greater than 1,000 meters.

"So it will be visible at the summit," she said.

She said the duration of the laser projection would be dependent on weather conditions, ranging from 5 to 10 minutes for tracking and gathering images.

Zuch said the Air Force plans to look at two to five images a night.

In the past, a supercomputer in Kihei has been able to construct photographs of some of the thousands of orbiting and deep space objects, according to the Maui High Performance Computing Center.

Objects in orbit include a wide variety of satellites, as well as a glove and screwdriver inadvertently left behind during previous manned space flight missions.

The Air Force said laser guide-star technology is in use at other observatories around the world, including Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, Palomar Observatory in California, the European Southern Observatory in Chile; and the Air Force Starfire Optical Range in New Mexico.

Zuch said the Air Force does not have an estimated cost or timetable for the modernization because it’s based on available funding and periodic evaluations of state-of-the-art technologies.

But she said modernization of the facilities and equipment could range from $1 million to $5 million per year.

She said the equipment and labor for the FASOR is estimated at $3 million.

The Air Force said visible lasers in the green spectrum are currently used by the Air Force and the University of Hawaii.

"The only difference is that the FASOR laser will be a different color (orange)," it said in the draft report.

The draft said the modernization effort is expected to have no significant long-term adverse environmental impact, including any effect on biological and cultural resources.

Comments may be sent to Jim Gardner, Det 15, Air Force Research Laboratory, 550 Lipoa Parkway, Kihei, HI 96753 and Joseph Volza, Air Force Research Laboratory, 3550 Aberdeen SE, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117