Omelek Island
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Omelek Island is part of the Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. It is controlled by the United States military under a long-term lease (along with ten other islands in the atoll) and is part of the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site.
The Island is located at and is about 32,000 square meters (8 acres) in size. Geologically, it is composed of reef-rock, as are the other islands in the atoll, which is created by the accumulation of marine organism remnants (corals, mollusks, etc.)
Omelek has long been used by the United States for small research rocket launches due to its relative isolation in the South Pacific. The last US government rocket launch occurred in 1996. More recently, the island's equatorial proximity and nearby radar tracking infrastructure has attracted SpaceX, an orbital launch provider, which recently updated facilities on the island, as well as establishing the island as their primary launch location. In early 2006, an attempt to launch SpaceX's experimental low-cost rocket Falcon 1 from this location failed. It is the only U.S. equatorial launch facility.
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