The airport dates from American settlement during and after World War II, when the site was known as Bluie West-8 and then Sondrestrom Air Base.

The Kangerlussuaq area is also home to Greenland's most diverse terrestrial fauna, including muskoxen, caribou, and gyrfalcons.

On the East of Kangerlussuaq is a confluence of the two major regional rivers, the Qinnguata Kuussua and Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua.

To the southeast behind lake Tasersuatsiaq, which provides fresh water to the town,[7] is the vast highland of Ammalortup Nunaa,[6] the original region artificially populated with 27 muskoxen.

[9] In July 2012 a gust of warm air resulted in glacier meltwater which wiped out a key crossing of the Watson River.

A gravel road through Isunngua connects Kangerlussuaq with the ice sheet, initially serving as venue for car endurance experiments.

[20] The cost estimates have been between 250 and 500 million Danish kroner (DKK), depending on road quality, and therefore the plans are delayed.

A road to Sisimiut with a low quality, aimed to off-road vehicles was built 2020-2021,[21][22] at a cost of 25 million DKK.

The facility was host to more than 20 instruments, the majority of which provide unique and complementary information about the arctic upper atmosphere.

The centerpiece instrument of the facility was an L band incoherent scatter (IS) radar with a 32-metre (105 ft) fully steerable antenna.