HAARP
| HAARP | |
|---|---|
| Full name | High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program |
| Location | Gakona, Alaska |
| Operator | University of Alaska Fairbanks, since August 11, 2015 |
| Earlier management | US Air Force and Navy, 1990 to 2014 |
| Main instrument | |
| Name | Ionospheric Research Instrument (IRI) |
| Antenna | Phased array of 180 crossed dipoles on 33 acres |
| Transmitter power | 3.6 MW total |
| Frequency range | 2.7 to 10 MHz |
| Licensing | |
| FCC experimental call signs | WI2XFX (IRI), WI2XDV (Digisonde) |
HAARP, the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program, is a research facility near Gakona, Alaska, built to study the ionosphere, the electrically charged layer of the upper atmosphere that reflects HF radio signals. Its main instrument is a high-power HF transmitter that the university describes as the most capable in the world for studying the ionosphere.[1] Since 2015 it has been operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks.[1] For hams, HAARP is interesting both as a large-scale propagation experiment and as an occasional, very strong signal on the shortwave bands, with QSL cards for those who report hearing it.
History
Congress started the program in 1990, and the US Air Force and Navy managed it jointly until 2014.[2] The site's land had originally been acquired for an over-the-horizon radar that was canceled before it was built.[2] Construction began in 1993, and the first antenna array, with 18 elements, was finished in 1994. The array grew in stages to 48 elements by 1999 and reached its full size of 180 elements in 2007.[2] A UHF radar and an optical observation dome were added along the way.
On August 11, 2015, responsibility for the facility passed from the Air Force to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, through its Geophysical Institute.[1] HAARP now works on a pay-per-use basis, with government agencies and other sponsors paying for research time[2], and it is part of an observatory supported in part by the National Science Foundation.[1] The university holds an open house most years and runs a summer school for students at the site.[1]
How it works
The Ionospheric Research Instrument, or IRI, is a phased array of 180 crossed dipoles covering 33 acres. It is fed by 360 transmitters of 10 kW each, housed in 30 shelters, for a total of 3.6 MW, and can operate anywhere from 2.7 to 10 MHz.[2] Because it is a phased array, its beam can be steered electronically. HAARP generates its own power with on-site generators during research operations.[2]
By aiming that energy upward, researchers can temporarily heat a small patch of the ionosphere and watch how it responds. Experiments include creating artificial plasma irregularities, producing faint glows that sensitive cameras can detect, and using the heated ionosphere to generate very low frequency signals from below 1 Hz to about 20 kHz.[2] Passive instruments on site also study the ionosphere using satellite beacons, observe the aurora, and monitor the ozone layer.[1] A campaign in October 2022 included moonbounce tests, an attempt to bounce a signal off Jupiter, and work on the airglow known as STEVE.[3]
HAARP and amateur radio
Research runs in short campaigns rather than continuously, and HAARP shares notices of its transmissions beforehand with amateur groups such as the ARRL, HamSCI and the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers.[4] Listeners are invited to submit reception reports through an online form, giving the date, time in UTC, frequency, location or grid square and a description of what they heard. A confirmed report earns a HAARP QSL card if one is requested. Confirmation takes at least a few weeks.[4]
Some campaigns have been designed around amateur participation. In July and August 2018, HAARP transmitted WSPR signals on the 40- and 80-meter bands, varying power, beam direction and polarization to see how the reports in the WSPRnet database changed. The experiment drew more than 300 confirmed reports from nearly 100 stations in the US and Canada.[5] On September 12, 2026, at 0030 UTC (the evening of September 11 in the eastern US), HAARP marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks with a five-minute transmission on 9.11 MHz, outside the amateur bands, identifying as KL7ERP, which the ARRL described as HAARP's amateur call sign: a Morse code QST, an slow-scan television image of lower Manhattan, and "73," beamed toward New York and Washington.[6]
Myths
Because of its size and its military origins, HAARP has attracted many conspiracy theories. The university answers the common ones directly: HAARP's frequencies pass through the lower atmosphere, where weather happens, without being absorbed, so it cannot control the weather. It is too weak to create a natural-scale aurora, its effects on the ionosphere fade within a second or less to about ten minutes, depending on altitude, and its research is unclassified, with environmental documents available to the public.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 HAARP, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 HAARP Frequently Asked Questions, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
- ↑ Amateur Radio Operators Invited to Participate in Scientific Experiments, ARRL, October 2022.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 HAARP Reception Reports, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
- ↑ HAARP's WSPR Research Campaign Yields Hundreds of Reports on 40 and 80 Meters, ARRL, August 2018.
- ↑ Special HAARP Transmission for 9/11, ARRL, September 2026.