History
The Okno facility was started by the Soviet Union in 1979. All construction stopped in 1992 due to the civil war in Tajikistan and the centre started test operations in 1999 and combat duty in 2004. Ownership of the complex was transferred from Tajikistan to Russia in 2004 in return for the writing off of $242 million USD of Tajikistan's $299 million USD debt to Russia.
When it was built it was believed by some in the west to be a military anti-satellite laser facility rather than one for optical tracking. In 1987 John E. Pike of the Federation of American Scientists was quoted as saying "Whether or not this facility will be capable of shooting down satellites or 'Star Wars,' it most certainly is developing the kind of technology that would eventually be able to do so."
A complex like Okno features in the Tom Clancy novel The Cardinal of the Kremlin, based on actual satellite photography of the site. The description of the installations in the book matches closey its actual configuration though not its real purpose, as the book is based on Okno being a laser antimissile system.
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