About our Ascension Island news
Latest news on Ascension Island, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean, about 1,000 miles from the coast of Africa and 1,400 miles from the coast of South America. Ascension Island has no permanent or indigenous population, but is home to about 800 people who work on the island's military bases, rocket tracking station, signals intelligence facility and BBC relay station. The island was discovered by the Portuguese in 1501 and named after Ascension Day. It was used by the British as a naval and air station during World War II and the Falklands War. It also hosts one of four ground antennas that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS). Ascension Island has a volcanic landscape with a green mountain, a wet season from January to April, and a variety of wildlife including turtles, seabirds and crustaceans.