In the United States space program's formative stages, Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) contracted with the Philco Ford division of Ford Motor Company to provide interim operational facilities at its Palo Alto, California, location.

In 1986 the base was renamed[2] in honor of Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Ellison S. Onizuka, an astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986.

AFSC therefore planned the Consolidated Space Operations Center (CSOC), which would lie several miles east of Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the to-be-built Falcon Air Force Station (later renamed Schriever Air Force Base).

[5] On May 13, 2005, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recommended closing the Onizuka Air Force Station in Sunnyvale as part of a fifth round of military base closures and re-sizing.

9 acres (3.6 hectares) of the land was earmarked for conversion to educational space operated by the Foothill–De Anza Community College District.

1 acre (0.40 hectares) was added to Sunnyvale's existing Fire Station 5 and was subject to a land swap with a developer to relocate Fire Station 5, upgrade it to full service capabilities, and support a shooting range for public safety personnel training.