HAARP Knock, Knock, Knocking
on Heaven's Door
A new research installation is beaming powerful
radioactive energy into the upper atmosphere. Exploring
conventional and exotic military uses of the air waves towards its goals.
At a remote facility ringed with barbed wire, a brand-new array of 36 antennas
rises from the black spruce forest that stretches hundreds of miles across
central
This little-known Pentagon-sponsored radiophysics project, called the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP), is officially intended to
expand knowledge about the nature of long-range radio communications and
surveillance using the fluctuating ionosphere - the portion of the upper
atmosphere extending from 35 to 500 miles above earth's surface.
According to program manager John L. Heckscher of the Phillips Laboratory at Hanscom
AFB, Massachusetts, potential military applications of the HAARP research
include developing Department of Defense technology for detecting cruise
missiles and communicating with submarines. "Although HAARP is being
managed by the Air Force and Navy, it is purely a scientific research facility
that poses no threat to potential dversaries and has
no value as a military target," he says.
But that's just the publicly announced part of the program. HAARP also has a secret agenda: pursuing more exotic military goals, such as locating deeply buried weapons factories thousands of miles away and even altering the local weather above an enemy's territory.
A 1990 internal document obtained by POPULAR SCIENCE
says the program's overall goal is to "control ionospheric
processes in such a way as to greatly improve the performance of military
command, control, and communications systems." It provides a description
of the following applications:
Injecting high-frequency radio energy into the ionosphere to
create huge, extremely low frequency (ELF) virtual antennas used for
earth-penetrating tomography peering deep beneath the surface of the ground by
collecting and analyzing reflected ELF waves beamed down from above.
Heating regions of the lower and upper ionosphere to form virtual "lertses" and "mirrors" that can reflect a
broad range of radio frequencies far over the horizon to detect stealthy cruise
missiles and aircraft.
Generating ELF radio waves in the ionosphere to communicate
across large distances with deeply submerged submarines.
And, patent documents filed during an earlier
research effort that evolved into the HAARP program outline further military
applications of ionospheric-heating technology:
Creating a "full global shield" that would destroy
ballistic missiles by overheating their electronic guidance systems as they fly
through a powerful radio-energy field.
Distinguishing nuclear warheads from decoys by sensing their
elemental composition.
Manipulating local weather.
When the full HAARP facility is constructed, it will include several sensing and analysis systems. At its heart is the antenna field, which now is a demonstration version of a larger planned array named the ionospheric research instrument (IRI), which will include 360 antennas. The IRI is designed to temporarily modify 30-mile diameter patches of the upper atmosphere by excit ing, or "heating," their constituent electrons and ions with focused beams of powerful, highfrequency radio energy. A household analogy would be a microwave oven, which heats dinner by exciting the food's water molecules with microwave energy.
Earth-penetrating tomography is a startling potential
use of ionospheric heating. The method would work by
beaming radio energy into the Auroral
electrojet, the curved, charged-particle stream
formed at high latitudes where the solar wind interacts with Earth's magnetic
field. The radio energy then disperses over large areas through ductlike regions of the ionosphere, forming a virtual
antenna that can be thousands of miles in length.
Such an ELF antenna can emit waves penetrating as
deeply as several kilometers into the ground, depending on the geological makeup
and subsurface water conditions in a targeted area. Aircraft or satellites
stationed overhead would then collect the reflected ELF waves and relay them to
computers at a processing station, where subsurface inhomogeneities
that trace the outlines of structures suchas
underground weapons facilities can be imaged. North Korea and Iraq, where
buried nuclear weapons labs are believed to exist, would be prime candidates
for earth-penetrating tomography surveillance.
Virtual lenses and mirrors will be generated in the
ionosphere, if the IRI works as intended. By precisely warming a patch of the
lower ionosphere the IRI reduces its density relative to the surrounding
atmosphere. An "ionospheric lens" thus
formed can in turn focus a radio beam into the upper ionosphere [see drawing].
Normally, most high-frequency radio waves broadcast from the ground are
absorbed or scattered in the lower ionosphere, and few of them reach such high
altitudes.
Next, the focused radio beam excites a patch of
Soothe upper ionosphere to form a virtual mirror. Finally, a
radio-communication signal broadcast by the IRI, focused through the lens and
reflected from the mirror, can be directed far over
the horizon.
Virtual lenses and mirrors could also be used to scan a blanket of very low frequency (VLF) radio waves transmitted by an over-the-horizon radar. Although they reflect little VLF energy, stealth aircraft can appear from above as "holes in the blanket," thus betraying their position.
Deeply submerged submarines can receive secure
messages through ELF radio communication. But the antenna needed to generate a
desirable transmission frequency such as 30Hz must be more than 1,200 miles
long. Real estate parcels this shape are hard to come
by on the ground, but not in the air. As in the case of earthpenetrating
tomography, high-frequency radio energy transmitted into the Auroral electrojet
can form a submarine communications ELF antenna thousands of miles long.
Consequently, HAARP can beam ELF waves at nearly any portion of the Northern
Hemisphere by using oblique heating.
The full global shield is an exotic proposal for an
Earth-encompassing shell of high-speed electrons and ions that would be
generated by a much more powerful version of HAARP. Any missile or warhead
passing through the protective shell would explode. Or, a "soft-kill"
weapon system using ELF waves produced by HAARP heating could be used to
overload power-distribution grids and destroy unshielded microelectronics using
electromagnetic pulse energy similar to that released by a high-altitude
nuclear explosion.
Real nuclear warheads and decoys, or the constituent
materials of unfamiliar satellites, could be remotely distinguished in flight
by bathing them in accelerated electrons. Analyzing the electromagnetic signal
returns would reveal their elemental composition.
Weather manipulation may be possible by building an ionospheric heater a thousandfold
more powerful than HAARP. Differential heating of areas of the atmosphere could
induce local weather conditions, such as floods or droughts, useful to the
military. Smooth seas might suddenly be raked by treacherous squalls, creating
or denying a tactical advantage.
Other elements that will be installed at the HAARP facility include a 120-foot diameter incoherent-scatter radar dish, a Laser Detection and Ranging Device (LIDAR), a magnetometer, and other optical and infrared instruments designed to analyze low-level light emissions induced in IRI-heated regions of the ionosphere. In all, HAARP's assemblage of transmitters, receivers, computers, and advanced signal-processing methods places it on the cutting edge of high-energy radio-physics research.
The program is managed by the USAF Phillips
Laboratory and the Office of Naval Research. Equipment is supplied by Advanced
Power Technologies, a Washington, DC-based subsidiary of E-Systems of Dallas, a
longtime maker of electronics used in ultra-secret projects such as
signals-intelligence satellites and the President's E-4B "doomsday
plane," which is designed to serve as an airborne White House in the event
of nuclear war.
Initial work on HAARP was begun in the mid1980s by
Atlantic Richfield Corporation's subsidiary, ARCO Production Technologies
Corporation, and its then-president, physicist Bernard Eastlund. ARCO wanted
to find an onsite demand for the enormous amounts of Alaskan natural gas it
owns. So it cooked up an energy intensive idea.
Eastlund worked under contract for the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (now called ARPA) and was
awarded three patents one of which was classified until 1991 for inventions
dealing with ionospheric modification. One of the
most grandiose systems described in his patents is a 40-mile square, HAARP-like
radio transmitter that would have used huge amounts of electric power generated
by turbines burning natural gas drawn from the vast
"I founded and led the ARCO program until
1987," Eastlund says. "About that time
Edward Teller visited Robert Hirsch, the ARCO vice president who had hired me.
I don't know the direct results of that discussion, but shortly thereafter new
[secret] initiatives began which I was not privy to, and I declined further
involvement."
Teller is a co-designer of the hydrogen bomb and was the arch-proponent of the now-abandoned X-ray-laser the centerpiece of Ronald Reagan's Star molars missile-defense program. Asked about his involvement in the beginnings of HAARP, Teller responded "I have no idea about that. I don't remember anything about it."
Although it is much smaller than a "full global
shield" system, Eastlund says, "HAARP is
the perfect first step toward a plan like mine. Advances in phased-array
transmitter technology and power generation can produce the
field strength required. The government will say it isn't so, but if it quacks
like a duck, and it looks like a duck - there's a good chance it is a
duck."
Advanced Power Technologies president Ramy Shanny declined to comment
on Eastlund's claims. And the Defense Department is
making no effort to dispel the impression that Eastlund's
story might sound a bit like science fiction. "HAARP certainly does not
have anything to do with Eastlund's thing, that is
just crazy," says Heckscher. "What we have
here is a premier scientific research facility with military
applications."
Richard Williams, a physical chemist and consultant
to the Sarnoff Laboratory at Princeton dJniversity,
sees things differently. "Eastlund is an
intellectual ace and a technologically savvy guy," he says, "though
there is a bit of Dr. Strangelove in him."
Speculation and controversy surround the question of
whether HAARP's 1.7 gigawatts
(1.7 billion watts) of effective radiated power in the 2.8to 10MHz frequency
range might cause lasting damage to Earth's upper atmosphere. By comparison,
the energy level is more than 3,000 times greater than the biggest commercial
AM radio transmitters.
"HAARP will dump enormous amounts of energy into
the upper atmosphere. We don't know what will happen," says Williams.
"My concern is its effect on a global scale - you can't localize the
effects. With experiments on this scale, irreparable damage could be done in a
short time. The immediate need is for open discussion. To do otherwise would be
an act of global vandalism."
Eastlund himself observes that "There has never been a transmitter of this power in this frequency band. It would be wise to assess its impact."
The 440-page HAARP environmental-impact statement
filed by the Air Force says that the normally upward-directed IRI transmissions
can raise the internal body temperature of nearby people; ignite road flares in
the trunks of cars; detonate aerial munitions that use electronic fuses; and
scramble aircraft communications, navigation, and flight-control systems.
Program officials insist that the facility will
operate safely during the four or five 14-day transmitting
"campaigns" scheduled yearly. An integral part of the HAARP design is
a system programmed to automatically cease transmitter operation if nearby
aircraft are detected. The chain-link fence is designed to keep visitors from
ending up in the path of a low-angle beam.
For decades, high-frequency heaters around the globe
have been operated by researchers studying how the injection of radio energy
affects the ionosphere, and the process by which the upper atmosphere recovers
from the disturbance. These include transmitters in
HAARP's power output nearly twice that of any
other ionospheric heater combined with the rapid
beam-steering ability and broad frequency range of its transmitter,
will permit the IRI to modify higher-altitude areas of the ionosphere from
greater distances than ever. A bank of six 2.5megawatt, 3,600-horsepower diesel
generators powers the IRI prototype, while the rest of the facility taps
electricity from a nearby power line.
Some prominent experts are unmoved by talk of HAARP's possibly dire effects. The dean of American space
scientists, James Van Allen, professor of physics at the
Van Allen says five decades of research have given
him a feeling for the minute scale of influence humans have on the cosmos.
"There is nothing that we as men can do that does
not pale in comparison to the forces of nature."
Alfred Y. Wong, professor of physics at UCLA and
director of the high-power active-stimulation ionospheric
heater HAARP's little brother located in
Wong believes HAARP could be used for environmental
mitigation efforts, such as accelerating chlorine atoms into interplanetary
space to prevent them from degrading Earth's vital upper-atmospheric ozone
layer. Though he acknowledges potential offensive military uses of HAARP, Wong
believes no harm will occur from its operations. "I don't see any problems,
only surprises," he says. "That's why we do research."
Others harbor a strong distrust of the program. A
local organization called No HAARP firmly opposes the project on environmental
and communications-disruption grounds. "This is not good science,"
contends retired ARCO Production Technologies employee Clare Zickuhr, who leads the group. "They have no idea what
this thing could do to the ionosphere. To put this in the hands of the military
scares the hell out of me."
HAARP has proceeded full-steam ahead since its inception in 1990. The total amount of money spent over the past six years exceeds $58 million and may reach nearly $200 million by the end of the decade, when the installation is scheduled to be completed. The effort is a "congressional specialinterest program," meaning that supporters in Congress request funds for it on behalf of the Air Force and Navy.
Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) is a staunch supporter
of the program. Other
This not the last we will hear of HAARP. Whether or
not the program's sponsors understand its long-term effects, they appear to
feel that the potential for useful military payoffs makes it worth taking some
political heat although they may not have expected to attract any attention way
out back in Alaska's sub-Arctic taiga.
[Reprinted with permission from Popular Science magazine.
Copyright 1995 Times Mirror Magazine, Inc.]