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On a bitter late September day, in water temperatures at the base pier around 32 degrees, two Inuit men visiting Thule to demonstrate their culture took to the harbor in kayaks to show how they maneuver and roll and, mostly, how they stay alive.
Missile warning is the core mission at Thule. It’s a year-round, 24/7 operation with downtime only for maintenance, which is tightly controlled and scheduled in advance with its sister radars at RAF Fylingdales in the U.K. and Clear Air Force Station, Alaska.
As the Earth tilts away from the sun, Thule becomes a land of permanent night, and permanent cold, dipping to as low as 47 below zero, according to base statistics.
The base’s two main missions — tracking satellites and orbiting debris, and watching for ballistic missile launches from the “Russian landmass” — are the reason the base was built, and why the seemingly anachronistic base remains.