Much of the base's operations are classified, but since the 1960s, it has performed satellite monitoring and mission control for NASA missions. The boxy, light blue building at the center is affectionately referred to as the "Blue Cube" around the South Bay.

But due to the end of the Cold War, changing technology and a new communications facility in Colorado, Onizuka of late has been relegated to back-up duty. The 278 employees are less than 10 percent of what the base had in the mid-1990s.

Because of this, Onizuka is on the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure list and, if the president approves the list on Sept. 8, the base will begin closing, with all operations moving to Vandenberg Air Force Base on the Central Coast within six years.

On July 7, the city of Sunnyvale held a public meeting to discuss the possible closure and the city's options with residents. Reactions ranged from wanting to fight to keep it open to protect the area against terrorist strikes to wanting to close the base and use the site to develop technology.

"If that's the trade-off, I think it's a fair trade," said resident Arthur Schwartz, who feels closure is imminent. "That being said, I would like the city to find a reuse for Onizuka, not fight to keep it open."

Many residents also wondered about the continued honoring of Lt. Col. Ellison Onizuka, one of the seven astronauts who died in the 1986 Challenger space shuttle explosion.

Economic impact to the city is not a primary concern. Although Sunnyvale would lose 278 jobs in town, the closure list also calls for a reserve unit of 253 people to be added to neighboring Moffett Field, almost making up the difference.

Assistant City Manager Robert Walker, who oversaw the meeting, said the council is planning to take the input from the meeting and decide what to do at a public meeting, possibly on July 19.

"Right now, we have a budget crisis, and the council will have to look at what resources we have for this fight, and if we want to challenge the list," City Manager Amy Chan said. "We need to see what would put Sunnyvale ahead of the other cities, and what does Onizuka have that other bases don't. That really is the bottom line."

Although the meeting was to gather information for the council, the only council member present was Julia Miller, and then only for a short time.

Although Onizuka is on the closure list, the decision is not final. According to the closure list website, the commission in charge of making the recommendation to the president is meeting in Los Angeles on July 14 to discuss the closure of western bases.

If the city council chooses to keep it open, the city can lobby, campaign and fight for the base until the president's approval.

If the city does not fight to keep it open, many have talked about using the space to encourage new technology development. The area around the station has become Sunnyvale's staging ground for the next technology boom, which many say will involve biotechnology and nanotechnology.

For more information on the Base Realignment and Closure process, visit www.brac.gov.