Under the agreement the Danish national flag must be side by side with the US national flag on the base. It is the northernmost installation of the U.
The base is home to a substantial portion of the global network of missile warning sensors of Space Delta 4 , and space surveillance and space control sensors of Space Delta 2 , providing space awareness and advanced missile detection capabilities to North American Aerospace Defense Command NORAD , the United States Space Force, and joint partners. Pituffik Space Base is also home to the st Space Base Group and is responsible for space base support within the Pituffik Defense Area for the multinational population of "Team Pituffik".
The base is also host to Detachment 1 of the 23rd Space Operations Squadron , part of the Space Delta 6 's global satellite control network. The airfield's 3, m 10, ft runway handles more than 3, US and international flights per year.
The base is also home to the northernmost deep water port in the world. In , Sir John Ross 's expedition made first contact with nomadic Inuktun in the area. It served as a base camp for his expeditions and attracted a permanent population. In explorer Knud Rasmussen established a missionary and trading post there.
He called the site "Thule" after classical ultima Thule ; the Inuit called it Umanaq "heart-shaped" , and the site is commonly called "Dundas" today. The United States abandoned its territorial claims in the area in in connection with the purchase of the Virgin Islands. Denmark assumed control of the village in A cluster of huts known as Pituffik "the place the dogs are tied" stood on the wide plain where the base was built in ; a main base street was named Pituffik Boulevard. The population was forcibly relocated to Thule.
