After the Challenger accident in 1986, the Air Force renamed its classified satellite control center, Sunnyvale Air Force Station (whose main building is known informally as the “Blue Cube”), after Challenger astronaut and Air Force officer Ellison Onizuka. However, in the latest BRAC round the Onizuka Air Force Station was slated for closure by 2011. Now, Congressman Ed Case (D-HI) has petitioned Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne to transfer the Onizuka name to another Air Force facility, perhaps in Onizuka’s home state of Hawaii. “I am sure you would agree that Lt. Col. Onizuka’s legacy should continue after the closure of his current namesake installation, and I ask that you commence consideration of an appropriate replacement,” Case writes in the letter, which primarily summarizes the life of Onizuka and the history of the facility currently named after him. “And I am equally sure that the people of Hawaii would warmly welcome your consideration of an Air Force facility in Hawaii for this high honor.”
