The University of Hawaii at Hilo Center for Maunakea Stewardship will decommission a second telescope starting in March, according to a news release. 

What You Need To Know

  • Decommissioning the UH Hilo Hōkū Keʻa Observatory is a requirement of the Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan

  • The U.S. Air Force built the Hōkū Keʻa Observatory in 1968, and it was one of the first observatories on Maunakea’s summit

  • The decommissioning of the California Institute of Technology Submillimeter Observatory on the summit of Maunakea began in Aug. 2023

  • UH has committed to the removal of five telescopes on Maunakea by the time the Thirty Meter Telescope is operational

Decommissioning the UH Hilo Hōkū Keʻa Observatory is a requirement of the Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan. The decommission process will include removing the observatory building, generator building, telecommunications and electrical infrastructure, and the restoration of the site. 

The construction crews working on decommissioning the Hōkū Keʻa Observatory will go through cultural training, which is required by the CMP. Daily prayers and Native Hawaiian protocol will precede all work. 

The U.S. Air Force built the Hōkū Keʻa Observatory in 1968, and it was one of the first observatories in Maunakea’s 528-acre astronomy precinct. UH Hilo took over the observatory in 2003. In April 2023, the Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources approved an application submitted by CMS to decommission the Hōkū Keʻa Observatory. 

As required by the CMP, the decommissioning of the California Institute of Technology Submillimeter Observatory on the summit of Maunakea began in Aug. 2023. The 34-foot diameter telescope, which first started operating in 1986, has been disassembled and will be shipped to Chile for reuse. Completing the $4 million deconstruction and restoration of the site is expected to be completed by the fall of 2024.  

Protests by Native Hawaiians and environmentalists in 2015 against the building of the Thirty Meter Telescope brought attention to concerns that Maunakea was not being properly managed. The state granted UH a 65-year lease in 1968 to operate the Maunakea Science Reserve. A 1998 state audit was critical of the university’s overall management.   

In Aug. 2020, the UH Board of Regents approved restructuring the internal management of UH-managed lands and created the CMS. The UH Board of Regents reaffirmed the university’s plan in Aug. 2023 to decommission two telescopes before the new Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority takes over management of Maunakea from the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources by July 1, 2028. The state legislature created the MKSOA in 2022. UH is working with MKSOA to transfer its leases, conservation district use permits, and an easement for lands on Maunakea. 

According to the CMS, UH has committed to the removal of five telescopes on Maunakea by the time TMT is operational. UH said the other three telescopes will be identified at a later date. The university said it will not build any new sites on the summit of Maunakea except for TMT. 

UH plans to build a teaching telescope, in coordination with MKSOA and DLNR, on already developed land at Hale Pōhaku, which is below the summit of Maunakea.

Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.