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
NRP Afonso de Albuquerque (1934) as a shore battery. The crew continued to resist and fight until about the 1410. The crew was captured by Indian forces on the next day at 20.30. It is estimated that during her last combat "Afonso de Albuquerque" fired almost 400 shells. Five of her crew were killed and 13 were wounded. The advantage of the Indian Navy was significant, as their ships were more modern. "Afonso de Albuquerque" lay grounded at the beach near Dona Paula until 1962 when she was refloated and towed to Bombay. Parts of the ship are on display at a museum in Mumbai.