Ascension Island a staging point by the British military during the Falklands War. Ascension Island hosts one of four ground antennas (others are on Kwajalein Island, Diego Garcia, and Cape Canaveral) that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigational system. NASA operates a Meter Class Autonomous Telescope (MCAT) on Ascension Island for tracking orbital debris, which is potentially hazardous to operating spacecraft and astronauts, at a facility called the John Africano NASA/AFRL Orbital Debris Observatory. In 1501, the Portuguese navigator Afonso de Albuquerque sighted the island on Ascension Day (which fell on 21 May that year) and named
João Afonso de Albuquerque João Afonso de Albuquerque João Afonso de Albuquerque, (28 September 1354), Juan Alfonso de Alburquerque in Spanish and nicknamed "o do Ataúde", 6th Lord of Alburquerque, was a member of the highest ranks of the nobility of the Kingdom of Portugal, an astute politician, and descendant from the royal houses of both Portugal and Castile, although through illegitimate lines. Count of Alburquerque, Lord of Azagala, Codosera, Alconchel, Medellín, Meneses and Tiedra, he was the "Alférez" of King Alfonso XI of Castile and Leon (13331336), Chancellor of Castile between 1350 and 1353, and Mayordomo mayor of "Infante" Peter, later King Peter