Commercial space launch facility
The
Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport
(
MARS
) is a commercial space launch facility located at the southern tip of
NASA
's
Wallops Flight Facility
on
Wallops Island
in Virginia, just east of the
Delmarva Peninsula
and south of
Chincoteague
,
Virginia
, United States. It is owned and operated by the
Virginia Spaceport Authority
.
Background
[
edit
]
The Virginia General Assembly created the political subdivision
Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority
(VCSFA), also known as Virginia Space, in 1995 to promote the development of the commercial space flight industry, economic development, aerospace research, and
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education
throughout the Commonwealth.
[1]
This initiative was done from the recommendations of the
Batten College
at
Old Dominion University
, with Dr. Billie Reed, a longtime professor at the University, installed as its Executive Director.
[2]
[3]
[4]
In 1997, Virginia Space entered into a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement with NASA, which provided for permitted use of land on NASA Wallops Island for the MARS launch pads. Virginia Space also applied for and was granted an FAA license to launch to orbit. This led to the establishment of the
Virginia Space Flight Center
, located on the southern portion of NASA Wallops Island. At the time, the Center served as a collective partnership that included the
National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA)
,
Old Dominion University
, and Virginia Space.
[3]
In July 2003, Governors
Robert Ehrlich
of Maryland and
Mark Warner
of Virginia signed an agreement that directed the
Secretary of Commerce and Trade of Virginia
and the Secretary of Business and Economic Development of Maryland to form a working group to develop a concept and implementation plan for joint governance, operation, and administration of the commercial spaceport at Wallops Island.
[1]
As such, the Virginia Space Flight Center was renamed as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), reflecting the location of the facilities as opposed to the singular state.
[2]
[3]
MARS is approved for launch azimuths from 38° to 60°, making it an ideal location from which to launch to the International Space Station (ISS).
[1]
In 2007, NASA selected Virginia-based
Orbital Sciences Corporation
(Northrop Grumman) to participate in the
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services
(COTS) program and then selected Orbital for a follow-on
Commercial Resupply Service
(CRS) contract to build and demonstrate a new rocket,
Antares
, to resupply the
International Space Station
(ISS). The CRS contract authorized eight missions from 2012 to 2015 carrying approximately 20,000 kg of cargo to ISS as well as disposal of waste. These launches were to take place from the new state-of-the-art MARS Pad 0A.
[1]
On MARS Pad 0B, VCSFA made modifications and upgrades to launch the NASA Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission to the Moon in mid-2013 on a new Orbital Sciences Minotaur V launch vehicle. Also in mid-2013, the USAF launched ORS-3 from MARS Pad 0B.
[1]
MARS is one of only several sites licensed by the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation to launch to orbit. Additionally, Virginia is home to the
NASA Langley Research Center
(LARC) and
National Reconnaissance Office
(NRO), and as such is a recipient of a large portion of the Federal budget for Space. Finally, according to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Virginia ranks first in the number of scientists and engineers as a percentage of the workforce, third in the concentration of high-tech jobs as a percentage of the workforce, and sixth in non-industry investment in research and development.
[1]
Facilities
[
edit
]
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport has three active orbital launch pads.
Pad 0A was built in the 1990s for the
Conestoga
rocket, which made its only flight in 1995.
[5]
The launch tower was subsequently demolished in September 2008,
[6]
and the pad has since been rebuilt for use by the
Northrop Grumman
Antares
.
[7]
The pad modifications for Antares included the construction of a Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) for launcher/payload mating and a wheeled transporter/erector that will "roll out and erect the rocket on its launch pad about 24 hours prior to launch".
[7]
The facility suffered significant damage during the
28 October 2014 Antares launch failure
, according to NASA officials in the immediate aftermath.
[8]
Preliminary estimates for rebuilding the pad indicated the cost should be no more than
US$20 million
.
[9]
By May 2015, that estimate had been revised down to
US$13 million
and repairs were expected to be completed by September or October 2015 with the next planned launch in March 2016.
[10]
On September 30, 2015, the spaceport announced repairs on pad 0A had been completed.
[11]
Following the
Cygnus NG-19
launch in August 2023, Pad 0A was taken offline for the pad and facilities to be upgraded to support the new
Antares 330
rocket, which will have approximately twice the thrust as its predecessor, Antares 230+. The pad and transporter erector must accept the wider diameter of the new first stage, and the HIF must be lengthened. In addition, the complex is being upgraded to support the future Northrop Grumman Medium Launch Vehicle, based on the Antares 330 but sporting a liquid-fueled second stage.
[12]
For
sound suppression
and cooling the pad during launches, there is a 307 ft (94 m)-tall water tower
[13]
Pad 0A is located at
37°50′02″N
75°29′16″W
/
37.833959°N 75.4878331°W
/
37.833959; -75.4878331
(
Wallops Island Launch Pad 0-A
)
.
Launch Pad 0B (LP-0B)
[
edit
]
Pad 0B became operational in 1999,
[14]
and was subsequently upgraded with the construction of a
mobile service tower
, which was completed in 2004.
[15]
It remains active, and is currently used by
Northrop Grumman
Minotaur
rockets. However, the Minotaur launch rate has decreased in recent years, leaving multi-year gaps between launches from Pad 0B.
Pad 0B hosted the only Minotaur V launch, carrying the
LADEE
lunar orbiter, in 2013. This was the first (and so far only) beyond-Earth mission to launch from Wallops.
Pad 0B is located at
37°49′52″N
75°29′29″W
/
37.8311576°N 75.4913829°W
/
37.8311576; -75.4913829
(
Wallops Island Launch Pad 0-B
)
Launch Pad 0C (LP-0C)/Launch Complex-2 (LC-2)
[
edit
]
In October 2018,
Rocket Lab
announced that it had selected MARS as its second launch site, called
Rocket Lab Launch Complex-2
. The company began construction in February 2019, together with the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (Virginia Space). In December 2019, Rocket Lab said it had built and completed
Launch Complex-2 (LC-2)
(located at
37°50′00″N
75°29′18″W
/
37.833266°N 75.4882304°W
/
37.833266; -75.4882304
(
Wallops Island Launch Complex-2
)
),
[16]
a new launch pad near Pad 0A, and was ready to support missions just 10 months later with the first launch scheduled for the third quarter of 2020.
[17]
At a press conference on the same day at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, the Space Test Program of the
United States Air Force
(now
United States Space Force
) was announced as the planned first customer for the Electron launch vehicle from LC-2. The mission was planned to launch a single research and development micro-satellite. This plan did not occur.
[18]
For LC-2 missions, Electron rockets are fully assembled at an offsite integration facility before being trucked to the pad and installed on the launch mount.
[19]
The first launch from LC-2 successfully occurred on January 24, 2023. An
Electron
rocket carried three satellites to orbit in a mission named "Virginia is for Launch Lovers", the launch title referencing Virginia's well-known tourism slogan "
Virginia is for Lovers
".
[20]
[21]
Since then, LC-2 has seen several orbital Electron launches, including a handful of suborbital missions by the HASTE configuration of Electron.
Launch Pad 0D (LP-0D)/Launch Complex-3 (LC-3)
[
edit
]
In October 2023, construction of a new launch site between LP-0A and LP-0B was seen. The new launch site will be for
Rocket Lab's
Neutron
and will be named
Launch pad 0D (LP-0D).
Rocket Lab will refer to LP-0D as launch complex 3 or LC-3 (located at
37°49′56″N
75°29′24″W
/
37.8321693°N 75.4899046°W
/
37.8321693; -75.4899046
(
Wallops Island Launch Complex-2
)
).
[22]
Launch history
[
edit
]
Launch
|
Date (
UTC
)
|
Vehicle
|
Payload
|
Launch pad
|
Result
|
Remarks
|
1
|
23 October 1995, 22:02
|
Conestoga 1620
|
Meteor recoverable experimental satellite
|
Pad 0A
|
Failure
|
The only orbital launch attempt of Conestoga.
|
2
|
16 December 2006, 12:00
|
Minotaur I
|
TacSat-2
/
GeneSat-1
|
Pad 0B
|
Success
[23]
|
|
3
|
24 April 2007, 06:48
|
Minotaur I
|
NFIRE
|
Pad 0B
|
Success
[23]
|
|
4
|
22 August 2008, 09:10
|
ALV X-1
|
Hy-BoLT / SOAREX-VI
|
Pad 0B
|
Failure
[24]
|
Suborbital launch.
|
5
|
19 May 2009, 23:55
|
Minotaur I
|
TacSat-3
|
Pad 0B
|
Success
|
|
6
|
30 June 2011, 03:09
|
Minotaur I
|
USAF ORS-1 Satellite
|
Pad 0B
|
Success
|
|
7
|
21 April 2013, 21:00
|
Antares 110
|
Cygnus Mass Simulator
|
Pad 0A
|
Success
[25]
|
|
8
|
7 September 2013, 03:27
|
Minotaur V
|
LADEE
mission to Lunar orbit
|
Pad 0B
|
Success
|
|
9
|
18 September 2013, 14:58
|
Antares 110
|
Cygnus Orb-D1
COTS Demo Mission
|
Pad 0A
|
Success
[26]
|
|
10
|
20 November 2013, 01:15
|
Minotaur I
|
ORS 3
,
STPSat-3
|
Pad 0B
|
Success
|
|
11
|
9 January 2014, 18:07
[27]
[28]
[29]
|
Antares 120
|
Cygnus CRS Orb-1
|
Pad 0A
|
Success
|
First Cygnus.
ISS
re-supply mission.
|
12
|
13 July 2014, 16:52
[30]
|
Antares 120
|
Cygnus CRS Orb-2
|
Pad 0A
|
Success
|
ISS
re-supply mission.
|
13
|
28 October 2014, 22:22
[31]
|
Antares 130
|
Cygnus CRS Orb-3
|
Pad 0A
|
Failure
[32]
|
Pad damaged by explosion and fire.
|
14
|
17 October 2016, 23:45
[33]
|
Antares 230
|
Cygnus CRS OA-5
|
Pad 0A
(rebuilt)
|
Success
|
ISS
re-supply mission.
|
15
|
12 November 2017, 12:19
|
Antares 230
|
Cygnus CRS OA-8E
|
Pad 0A
|
Success
|
ISS
re-supply mission.
|
16
|
21 May 2018, 08:44
|
Antares 230
|
Cygnus CRS OA-9E
|
Pad 0A
|
Success
|
ISS
re-supply mission.
|
17
|
17 November 2018, 09:01
|
Antares 230
|
Cygnus NG-10
|
Pad 0A
|
Success
|
ISS
re-supply mission.
|
18
|
17 April 2019, 16:46
|
Antares 230
|
Cygnus NG-11
|
Pad 0A
|
Success
|
ISS
re-supply mission.
|
19
|
2 November 2019, 13:59
|
Antares 230+
|
Cygnus NG-12
|
Pad 0A
|
Success
|
ISS
re-supply mission.
|
20
|
15 February 2020, 20:21
|
Antares 230+
|
Cygnus NG-13
|
Pad 0A
|
Success
|
ISS
re-supply mission.
|
21
|
15 July 2020, 13:46
[34]
|
Minotaur IV
|
NROL-129
|
Pad 0B
|
Success
|
Classified
NRO
payload.
|
22
|
3 October 2020, 02:16
|
Antares 230+
|
Cygnus NG-14
|
Pad 0A
|
Success
|
ISS
re-supply mission.
|
23
|
20 February 2021, 17:36
|
Antares 230+
|
Cygnus NG-15
|
Pad 0A
|
Success
|
ISS
re-supply mission.
|
24
|
15 June 2021, 13:35
|
Minotaur I
|
NROL-111
|
Pad 0B
|
Success
|
Classified
NRO
payload.
|
25
|
10 August 2021, 22:01
|
Antares 230+
|
Cygnus NG-16
|
Pad 0A
|
Success
|
ISS
re-supply mission.
|
26
|
19 February 2022, 17:40
|
Antares 230+
|
Cygnus NG-17
|
Pad 0A
|
Success
|
ISS
re-supply mission.
|
27
|
7 November 2022, 10:32
|
Antares 230+
|
Cygnus NG-18
|
Pad 0A
|
Success
|
ISS
re-supply mission.
|
28
|
24 January 2023, 23:00
|
Electron
|
HawkEye 360 Cluster 6
|
LC-2
|
Success
|
First launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex-2.
[21]
|
29
|
16 March 2023, 22:39
|
Electron
|
Capella 9
,
10
|
LC-2
|
Success
|
Launched 2 SAR satellites for Capella Space into orbit.
|
30
|
18 June 2023, 01:25
|
HASTE
|
DYNAMO-A
|
LC-2
|
Success
[35]
|
First launch of the HASTE program; suborbital trajectory
|
31
|
2 August 2023, 00:31
|
Antares 230+
|
Cygnus NG-19
|
Pad 0A
|
Success
|
ISS
re-supply mission. Final launch of Antares 200 Series
|
32
|
21 March 2024, 07:25
|
Electron
|
NROL-123
|
LC-2
|
Success
|
Launched classified
National Reconnaissance Office
satellites into orbit.
|
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"History of MARS"
.
www.vaspace.org
. Retrieved
28 October
2020
.
- ^
a
b
"Space: The Final Frontier Starts at Wallops Island"
.
www.virginiaplaces.org
. Retrieved
2022-07-20
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Virginia Space Flight Center"
. 2003-02-07. Archived from
the original
on 7 February 2003
. Retrieved
2022-07-20
.
- ^
"Director and Personnel of the Virginia Space Flight Center at the Wallops Flight Facility"
. 2003-02-07. Archived from
the original
on 7 February 2003
. Retrieved
2022-07-20
.
- ^
Wade, Mark.
"Wallops Island LA0A"
. Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from
the original
on 2008-11-20
. Retrieved
2009-01-21
.
- ^
"Launch Tower Demolition"
. GMB. Archived from
the original
on 2009-02-21
. Retrieved
2009-01-21
.
- ^
a
b
Kyle, Ed (2011-05-14).
"Taurus 2"
. Space Launch Report
. Retrieved
2011-12-19
.
- ^
Botelho, Gerg.
"Unmanned NASA-contracted rocket explodes; damage was 'significant'
"
. CNN
. Retrieved
2014-10-28
.
- ^
Foust, Jeff (2014-11-21).
"Virginia May Seek Federal Funds for Wallops Spaceport Repairs"
.
Space News
. Archived from
the original
on December 1, 2014
. Retrieved
2014-12-01
.
- ^
Leone, Dan (May 15, 2015).
"With $2 Million Left on Wallops Repair Bill, NASA and Virginia Look to Orbital ATK To Dig Deeper"
. Space News
. Retrieved
July 19,
2015
.
- ^
"Completion Of Repairs at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Launch Pad 0A"
. vaspace.org. September 30, 2015. Archived from
the original
on January 17, 2018
. Retrieved
October 31,
2015
.
- ^
Davenport, Justin.
"Northrop Grumman and Firefly's Antares 330 and MLV plans take shape"
.
NASASpaceflight.com
. NASASpaceflight
. Retrieved
12 September
2023
.
- ^
Davenport, Justin.
"Northrop Grumman and Firefly's Antares 330 and MLV plans take shape"
.
NASASpaceflight.com
. NASASpaceflight
. Retrieved
12 September
2023
.
- ^
"Facilities"
. Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Archived from
the original
on October 16, 2008
. Retrieved
2009-01-21
.
- ^
"Launch Pad 0-B"
(PDF)
. Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on July 4, 2008
. Retrieved
2009-01-21
.
- ^
Powers, Kelly (17 December 2019).
"Launch platform marks milestone"
.
The Daily Times
. Salisbury, Maryland.
Archived
from the original on 18 April 2022
. Retrieved
18 April
2022
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Rocket Lab tests Electron on new Virginia launch pad"
.
SpaceNews.com
. 2020-04-30
. Retrieved
2020-05-24
.
- ^
"Updates"
.
Rocket Lab
. Retrieved
28 October
2020
.
- ^
"Rocket Lab | Our Launch Sites"
.
Rocket Lab
. Retrieved
2018-12-30
.
- ^
"Rocket Lab conducts first Electron launch from American soil"
.
NASASpaceflight
. Retrieved
2023-01-24
.
- ^
a
b
Harwood, William (2023-01-24).
"Rocket Lab launches 3 satellites in first mission from U.S. soil"
.
CBS News
. Retrieved
2023-01-25
.
- ^
"Rocket Lab General Discussion Thread"
.
NASASpaceflight
. Retrieved
2023-11-04
.
- ^
a
b
Wade, Mark.
"Wallops Island LA0B"
. Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from
the original
on 2011-11-15
. Retrieved
2011-12-19
.
- ^
Tennant, Diane (22 Aug 2008).
"NASA destroys rocket shortly after launch at Wallops Island"
.
Virginian-Pilot
. Retrieved
2 November
2014
.
- ^
"Antares Maiden Soar Pierces Virginia Sky and delivers NASA SmartPhone Pioneer Nanosats to Orbit - Universe Today"
. 24 April 2013
. Retrieved
12 September
2018
.
- ^
Dietrich, Tamara (19 September 2013).
"Cargo ship takes off for station"
.
Daily Press
. Newport News, Virginia. p. A4.
Archived
from the original on 18 April 2022
. Retrieved
18 April
2022
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"ORB-1: Antares successfully launches Cygnus en route to ISS ? NASASpaceFlight.com"
.
www.nasaspaceflight.com
. Retrieved
12 September
2018
.
- ^
"Northrop Grumman Corporation"
.
Northrop Grumman
. Retrieved
12 September
2018
.
- ^
"NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details"
.
nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
. Retrieved
28 October
2020
.
- ^
Beutel, Allard (3 April 2015).
"NASA Cargo Launches to Station Aboard Orbital Resupply Mission"
. Retrieved
12 September
2018
.
- ^
"Antares Launch Postponed to Oct. 28 ? Orbital ATK"
.
blogs.nasa.gov
. Archived from
the original
on 25 April 2015
. Retrieved
12 September
2018
.
- ^
"Teams investigate failure of unmanned rocket off Virginia coast"
.
CNN
.
- ^
Beutel, Allard (17 October 2016).
"Orbital ATK Launches NASA Resupply Mission to Space Station"
. Retrieved
12 September
2018
.
- ^
Koehler, Keith (15 July 2020).
"Minotaur IV Launches from Wallops"
.
Archived
from the original on 18 April 2022
. Retrieved
15 July
2020
.
- ^
"Rocket Lab Debuts HASTE Rocket with First Successful Suborbital Launch from Virginia"
.
Rocket Lab
. Rocket Lab
. Retrieved
24 October
2023
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wallops Island launch sites
|
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Active
| Asia
| |
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Europe
| |
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North America
|
- United States government:
USSF
- NASA
- United
States
academic launches
- United States private launches
|
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Oceania
| |
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South America
| |
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International waters
| |
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Proposed
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Historical
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Personnel
| | |
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Products
|
- Launch vehicles
- Photon
- Rocket engines
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Facilities
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Missions
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