History of Kwajalein

Citizens of the Kwajalein Atoll largely supported a vote of no confidence for President Tomeing in April 2009. Subsequently, outgoing American ambassador Clyde Bishop commented in late April 2009 that future funding to the entire Republic of the Marshall Islands was dependent on the use of Kwajalein.

Kwajalein atoll has been leased by the United States for missile testing and various other operations from well-prior to independence for the Marshall Islands. Although this military history has influenced the lives of the Marshall Islanders who have lived in the atoll through the war to the present, the military history of Kwajalein has prevented tourism and has kept the environment in relatively pristine condition. American civilians and their families who reside at the military installations in Kwajalein are able to utilize this environment with few restrictions.

SpaceX updated facilities on Omelek Island to launch its commercial Falcon 1 rockets. The first successful Falcon 1 space launch from Omelek was conducted in 2008. It could launch Falcon 9s into polar and geosynchronous orbit. Due to a disagreement about building a new launch pad on Omelek, between either the US military and or the RMI, Space X moved their main facilities to the US and no longer uses the facilities in the atoll