ARIA Deployment Sites

The ARIA fleet staged worldwide—from Ascension Island to Diego Garcia, Dakar to Darwin. This section indexes all 70 locations on the flyARIA deployment map, with fuller histories for 19 notable sites. Edwards and Wright-Patterson appear in the index with links to their Air Force Base Histories (ARIA home stations), not as thin copies here.

Notable sites

• 
  South Atlantic

  Ascension Island AFS

  Mid-Atlantic rock and runway: Eastern Range tracking station and a frequent ARIA staging base between Africa and South America.

• 
  Indian Ocean

  Diego Garcia

  British Indian Ocean Territory atoll and U.S. Navy support facility—an Indian Ocean foothold on the ARIA deployment map.

• 
  Australia & Southwest Pacific

  Darwin, Australia

  Northern Territory gateway: Apollo-era ARIA staging for Pacific and Indian Ocean tracks, including Apollo 13 recovery support.

• 
  Pacific

  Hickam AFB, Hawaii

  Pacific crossroads beside Pearl Harbor: ARIA and TRIA transit hub, and home of the Burning Light task force story tied to TRIA 61-0331.

• 
  Pacific

  Andersen AFB, Guam

  Northern Guam’s strategic bomber and tanker base—and a regular Pacific stop on ARIA deployment routing.

• 
  Caribbean & Western Atlantic

  Antigua

  Eastern Caribbean island on the Air Force Eastern Test Range chain—tracking and telemetry downrange from Cape Canaveral.

• 
  Caribbean & Western Atlantic

  Bermuda

  Mid-Atlantic archipelago with NASA and range tracking heritage—another western Atlantic mark on the ARIA map.

• 
  Pacific

  Wake Island

  Remote Pacific atoll and U.S. airfield between Hawaii and Guam—sparse, strategic, and on the ARIA deployment list.

• 
  North Atlantic & Polar

  Thule, Greenland

  High Arctic U.S. base in northwest Greenland—polar staging on the edge of the ARIA world map.

• 
  Africa

  Dakar, Senegal

  West African capital and Atlantic springboard—one of the African cities ARIA crews knew from the schedule and from their stories.

• 
  Africa

  Cape Town, South Africa

  Southern tip of Africa: staging for South Atlantic and, in 1996, ARIA’s first telemetry-gathering flight over Antarctica.

• 
  Pacific

  Pago Pago

  American Samoa’s harbor and airfield—Apollo recovery staging and a waypoint on the TRIA 61-0331 memorial route.

• 
  Continental U.S. & Canada

  Vandenberg AFB, CA

  Western Range launch base on California’s central coast—polar and high-inclination launches that pulled ARIA onto Pacific and southern tracks.

• 
  Continental U.S. & Canada

  Kennedy Space Center area

  Florida’s Space Coast—the Eastern Range launches ARIA existed to support. Home-station history lives on the Patrick pages.

• 
  Continental U.S. & Canada

  Point Mugu NAS, CA

  Naval Base Ventura County’s Point Mugu airfield—Pacific Missile Range roots on California’s coast near Vandenberg.

• 
  Indian Ocean

  Seychelles

  Indian Ocean island republic—named on the ARIA map and remembered by crews as a favorite stopover.

• 
  Pacific

  Easter Island

  Rapa Nui in the southeastern Pacific—one of the loneliest dots on the ARIA deployment map.

• 
  Caribbean & Western Atlantic

  Grantley Adams, Barbados

  Eastern Caribbean island and airport—named in ARIA trilogy remarks among “choice” deployment locations.

• 
  South America

  Suriname (Paramaribo / Zanderij)

  Northeast South America: Paramaribo and Zanderij on the ARIA list—and the 1980 coup story of crews caught on the ground.

Deployment map

Hover or tap a green mark for the site name. Positions are approximate.

Complete index

Every name from the home-page map, grouped by region. Full-page sites link here; home stations link to Air Force Bases.

Caribbean & Western Atlantic

• Antigua Full page
  17.12, -61.85 — Eastern Test Range downrange island in the Leeward Islands.
• Bermuda Full page
  32.36, -64.68 — Mid-Atlantic island with NASA and Eastern Range tracking heritage.
• Grantley Adams, Barbados Full page
  13.07, -59.49 — Eastern Caribbean airport named among favored ARIA stopovers.
• Le Raizet, Guadeloupe
  16.27, -61.53 — Guadeloupe’s main airport (Pointe-à-Pitre) in the eastern Caribbean.
• Martinique
  14.59, -61.00 — French Caribbean island on the eastern Caribbean cluster.
• Piarco, Trinidad
  10.60, -61.34 — Trinidad’s main international airport (Piarco) in the southern Caribbean.
• Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico
  18.49, -67.13 — Former Air Force base at Aguadilla (now Rafael Hernández Airport).
• Roosevelt Roads NAS, PR
  18.25, -65.64 — Former Naval Station Roosevelt Roads on Puerto Rico’s east coast.

South Atlantic

• Ascension Island AFS Full page
  -7.97, -14.39 — South Atlantic Eastern Range station and frequent ARIA staging base.

Africa

• Capetown, S Africa Full page
  -33.97, 18.60 — Southern African staging; 1996 Antarctic telemetry flight origin.
• Dakar, Senegal Full page
  14.74, -17.49 — West African Atlantic hub and crew-story setting.
• Gabon, Africa
  0.46, 9.41 — Central African Atlantic-coast staging mark on the map.
• Harare, Zimbabwe
  -17.93, 31.09 — Southern African inland capital on the African deployment list.
• Johannesburg, S. Africa
  -26.14, 28.25 — South African inland hub paired with Cape Town on African routes.
• Liberia, Africa
  6.23, -10.36 — West African coastal state on the African deployment list.
• Mombasa, Kenya
  -4.03, 39.59 — Kenyan Indian Ocean port city on the African list.
• Nairobi, Kenya
  -1.32, 36.93 — Kenyan capital on the East African list.

Indian Ocean

• Diego Garcia Full page
  -7.31, 72.41 — British Indian Ocean Territory atoll; U.S. Navy support facility.
• Madagascar
  -18.80, 47.48 — Indian Ocean island nation on the African / Indian Ocean list.
• Mauritius
  -20.43, 57.68 — Indian Ocean island east of Madagascar.
• Reunion Island
  -20.89, 55.51 — French Indian Ocean island east of Madagascar.
• Seychelles Full page
  -4.67, 55.52 — Western Indian Ocean island republic; favorite stopover in crew features.
• Singapore
  1.36, 103.99 — Southeast Asian city-state hub on Asian / Indian Ocean routing.

Pacific

• Andersen AFB, Guam Full page
  13.58, 144.93 — Northern Guam Air Force base—regular western Pacific RON and fuel stop.
• Easter Island Full page
  -27.16, -109.42 — Isolated Chilean Pacific island (Rapa Nui) with a jet runway.
• Fiji
  -17.76, 177.44 — South Pacific island nation near Apollo recovery zones.
• Hickam AFB, Hawaii Full page
  21.32, -157.92 — Pacific crossroads; ARIA/TRIA transit hub (now Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam).
• Pago Pago Full page
  -14.33, -170.71 — American Samoa harbor and airfield—recovery staging and TRIA 61-0331 waypoint.
• Papeete, Tahiti
  -17.55, -149.61 — French Polynesia; named among “choice” deployment locations.
• Saipan
  15.12, 145.73 — Northern Mariana Islands—western Pacific staging near Guam.
• Wake Island Full page
  19.28, 166.65 — Central Pacific atoll airfield between Hawaii and Guam.

Australia & Southwest Pacific

• Auckland, New Zealand
  -37.00, 174.80 — North Island gateway; New Zealand stop on South Pacific deployments.
• Christchurch, New Zealand
  -43.49, 172.53 — South Island city long used as a gateway to Antarctica and the deep South Pacific.
• Darwin, Australia Full page
  -12.41, 130.88 — Northern Territory Apollo-era Pacific/Indian Ocean staging city.
• Melbourne, Australia
  -37.67, 144.84 — Southeast Australian city; named among favorite ARIA stopovers.
• New Caledonia
  -22.01, 166.21 — Southwest Pacific French territory on the ARIA map.
• Perth, Australia
  -31.94, 115.97 — Western Australian city; Apollo 13 accounts place an ARIA there with Darwin staging.
• Sydney, Australia
  -33.95, 151.18 — Australian east-coast capital region on the South Pacific list.
• Townsville, Australia
  -19.25, 146.77 — Queensland coastal city on Australia’s northeast coast.

South America

• Buenos Aires, Argentina
  -34.60, -58.40 — South American capital region staging on Atlantic routes.
• Cayenne, French Guiana
  4.82, -52.36 — Near Europe’s Guiana Space Centre—northeast South America Atlantic coast.
• Lima, Peru
  -12.02, -77.11 — Peruvian capital; named among worldwide ARIA sojourns in program features.
• Paramaribo, Surinam Full page
  5.85, -55.20 — Suriname’s capital—paired with Zanderij; 1980 coup overnight story.
• Recife, Brazil
  -8.13, -34.92 — Northeast Brazilian coastal city on South Atlantic routes.
• Rio de Janeiro
  -22.81, -43.25 — Brazilian coastal metropolis on South American Atlantic routes.
• Rio Gallegos, Argentina
  -51.61, -69.31 — Southern Argentine Patagonian airfield near high-latitude South Atlantic tracks.
• Zanderij, Surinam Full page
  5.45, -55.19 — Suriname’s long-runway international airport inland from Paramaribo.

Latin America

• Acapulco, Mexico
  16.85, -99.88 — Pacific Mexican resort city and jet airport on ARIA’s North American / Pacific fringe.
• Mexico City, Mexico
  19.44, -99.07 — Central Mexican capital region on the deployment list.

North Atlantic & Polar

• Thule, Greenland Full page
  76.53, -68.70 — High Arctic U.S. base (now Pituffik Space Base).

Continental U.S. & Canada

• Andrews AFB, DC
  38.81, -76.87 — Washington-area Air Force airfield (now Joint Base Andrews); listed among CONUS deployment sites.
• Cold Lake CFB, Canada
  54.40, -110.28 — Canadian Forces air base in Alberta on the northern CONUS/Canada list.
• Dyess AFB, Texas
  32.42, -99.85 — Abilene, Texas, bomber base on the CONUS deployment list.
• Edmonton, Canada
  53.31, -113.58 — Alberta city / airfield on the Canadian deployment list.
• Edwards AFB, CA · Edwards AFB history
  34.90, -117.88 — ARIA’s final home station—see Air Force Base Histories, not a thin duplicate here.
• Eglin AFB, Florida
  30.48, -86.53 — Florida panhandle test range; ARIA supported tests tied to Eglin among other ranges.
• Fairbanks, Alaska
  64.81, -147.86 — Interior Alaska staging on high-latitude routes.
• Homestead AFB, Florida
  25.49, -80.38 — South Florida Air Force base on the CONUS list.
• Kennedy SC, Florida Full page
  28.57, -80.65 — Kennedy Space Center / Cape Canaveral—Eastern Range origin of many ARIA missions.
• Kirtland AFB, NM
  35.04, -106.61 — Albuquerque Air Force base on the CONUS deployment list.
• March AFB, CA
  33.88, -117.26 — Southern California Air Force base (now March ARB) on the CONUS list.
• McClellan AFB, CA
  38.67, -121.40 — Sacramento-area Air Force base (closed 2001) on the historic CONUS list.
• McCord AFB, Washington
  47.14, -122.48 — McChord Field (Joint Base Lewis–McChord) in Washington state.
• Pax Naval Station, Maryland
  38.29, -76.41 — Naval Air Station Patuxent River—Navy flight-test center on the CONUS list.
• Pease AFB, New Hampshire
  43.08, -70.82 — Former Strategic Air Command base (now Pease ANGB / Portsmouth airport).
• Point Mugu NAS, CA Full page
  34.12, -119.12 — Pacific Missile Range shore base at Naval Base Ventura County.
• Vandenberg AFB, CA Full page
  34.74, -120.57 — Western Range launch base—polar and Pacific trajectories.
• Wright-Patterson AFB, OH · Wright-Patterson AFB history
  39.83, -84.05 — ARIA’s long home station after Patrick—see Air Force Base Histories.

Europe

• Lakenheath, England
  52.41, 0.56 — U.S. Air Force base in Suffolk, England—European staging mark.
• Prestwick, Scotland
  55.51, -4.59 — Scottish Atlantic gateway airport on the European list.

Summaries original to flyARIA.com. Photographs on full pages are U.S. government works (U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, NASA, and related) and are generally in the public domain in the United States. Credits appear on each page. Use does not imply endorsement by the Department of Defense, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Space Force, the U.S. Navy, or NASA. Personal recollections are linked to their archive sources and are not invented here.

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