In 1986, the Onizuka family gathered in Sunnyvale, Calif., for the dedication for the Onizuka Air Force Station, named for the late, Hawai'i-born Air Force Lt. Col. Ellison Onizuka.

Yesterday, Onizuka's younger brother Claude was resigned to the news that the Base Realignment and Closure Commission agreed with the Pentagon that the Onizuka station should be closed.

"It's their decision, so we just have to live with that," said Claude Onizuka, a Big Island resident.

Ellison Onizuka grew up in Keopu, Kona, and was among the seven crew members who died in the midair explosion of the space shuttle Challenger on Jan. 28, 1986. He was 40 when he died, and was honored in Hawai'i as an explorer and a hero.

When the Air Force renamed the satellite tracking station in Onizuka's honor, his widow, Lorna, responded by presenting Air Force officials with the American flag that Onizuka carried with him on his final trip into space.

Now, the Department of Defense plans to consolidate Air Force satellite command and control operations by closing the Onizuka base, shifting some base personnel to Vandenberg Air Force Base. The closure will cost Sunnyvale 107 military and 171 civilian jobs.

Claude Onizuka said naming the base after Ellison Onizuka was appropriate because it was used for tracking shuttle flights. The younger brother said he knew the base was being considered for closure, but had no contact with defense officials involved in the decision.

"It was nice that they named it after Ellison," he said, but with the consolidations of bases, the decision to shut down Onizuka Air Force Station was "something that I guess was out of our control."

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.