The application to decommission another telescope off of Maunakea was approved by the Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday.
The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo’s Hōkū Kea Observatory will be the second telescope to be deconstructed from the mountain’s summit.
The project is scheduled to begin later this year and take about five months to complete.
This is all part of the Maunakea Comprehensive Management Plan. It lays out UH's responsibilities to protect the cultural and natural resources on the mountain.
Hōkū Kea was built by the U.S. Air Force in 1970. It was one of the first observatories on Maunakea, according to UH.
The observatory, generator building, associated telecommunications and electrical infrastructure will be removed.
The final environmental assessment stated that the removal of Hōkū Kea will have no significant impacts.
The summit will be left with 11 telescopes/facilities after the Hōkū Kea is removed, but the new Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority wants no more than nine to remain.
The new authority will assume all management responsibilities of Maunakea from the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources on or before July 1, 2028.
In addition, UH said they are working with the authority and department to transfer its leases, conservation district use permits, and an easement for lands on Maunakea to the authority on or before July 1, 2028, as required by Act 255.
The California Institute of Technology Submillimeter Observatory is currently undergoing deconstruction.
