base sits farther north than thule. it is the halfway point between washington and moscow.ocation of the 12th space warning squadron. their $20 billion radar just got a $40 million software upgrade. one of six early warning systems like this around the world being improved. more than 3500 antennas here can see 3,000 miles into space. why is this so significant? >> because as the technology changes, it becomes more accurate and with the proliferation we're seeing across the globe there's more interest in being able to take measures against them. with the evolution of time we've gone away from aircraft to radar. the mission may have changed. but the access to location remains the same. >> reporter: thule is now home to only 200 military personnel. they come for a year at a time, climate and conditions are considered too harsh beyond that. >> i got here last june. >> reporter: michael ferrar is the base chaplain. >> it's an a mazing mission, who else can say you went to the top of the world. >> reporter: that said, it's an adjustment. >> oh, yeah. you don't hear birds. there's