Posted on April 16, 2013, at 6:50 pm .
The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket is seen on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) Pad-0A at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares rocket has been cleared for its maiden flight on Wednesday evening. The launch window opens at 5 p.m. EDT/2 p.m. PDT. NASA Television will begin at 4 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. PDT.
The flight from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island in Virginia will test the company’s new rocket and also launch a mass simulator that will approximate Orbital’s Cygnus freighter, which is designed to carry cargo to the International Space Station later this year.
Orbital Sciences will be providing updates on Twitter @orbitalsciences and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OrbitalSciencesCorp. The company will post photos on its Flickr page www.flickr.com/photos/orbitalsciences/.
Posted on April 4, 2013, at 9:01 am .
Orbital Sciences Corporation will roll out its Antares launch vehicle at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Saturday in advance of its maiden launch scheduled for between April 17 and 19. Meanwhile, technicians have successfully mated the first Cygnus pressurized cargo vehicle with its service module for launch on a subsequent flight.
Continue reading ‘Antares Rollout Scheduled as Cygnus Integration Advances at Wallops’
Posted on November 5, 2012, at 1:00 pm .
Wallops Island, VA (MARS PR) – Mr. Sean Mulligan has been selected to fill the position of Director, Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (or MARS Director) for the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VCSFA). Sean will report directly to Executive Director of VCSFA, Dale Nash. He will begin in his new position Monday, November 5, 2012.
All MARS functions (whether direct or subcontractor) including the Operations, Engineering, Planning, Maintenance, Facilities, and Security, will report directly to this position. This position during MARS launch operations is the primary interface with the NASA Range and Mission Management Office for day-to-day MARS direct launch mission support functions. This position will also be the primary interface for spaceport activities for launch customers. The Director of MARS will also serve as the primary liaison with NASA Wallops Flight Facility organizations.
Continue reading ‘MARS Gets New Director’
Posted on September 17, 2012, at 10:24 am .
RICHMOND (Governor’s Office PR)– Governor Bob McDonnell today announced that the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (“VCSFA”) and Dulles, Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corporation (“Orbital”) have reached a new agreement to govern their working relationship and allocation of assets at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (“MARS”). Pursuant to an earlier agreement entered into in 2008, Orbital partnered with the VCSFA to develop and construct improvements to the liquid-fuel-capable launch facility at MARS in order to accommodate launches of Orbital’s Antares™ rocket. These improvements are expected to be completed later this month.
Continue reading ‘Orbital, Viriginia Reach New Agreement on MARS Operations’
Posted on January 31, 2012, at 2:19 pm .
Billie Reed
A major leadership transition is occurring as Virginia begins to ramp up spending on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport:
The man leading Virginia’s charge into space is eyeing retirement, a management change that comes as the state prepares to invest millions of dollars to create the nation’s premiere spaceport.
Billie M. Reed has overseen nearly all aspects of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport since Virginia lawmakers decided to build the facility 17 years ago. Last month, he notified the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority board of directors that he plans to step down as its executive director.
“It’s hard to say when. But let’s face it, I’m well past retirement,” said Reed, who is in his late 60s…
J. Jack Kennedy, a former state lawmaker who serves on the board, said in an email that he anticipates Reed will retire in late 2012. He expects the board will retain Reed as a consultant….
Kennedy, who credits Reed for the spaceport’s development, called him the “father of modern commercial space in Virginia.” His pending departure comes as the authority readies for significant growth.
Read the full story.
Posted on January 18, 2012, at 10:20 am .
Pad OA at Wallops Island. (Credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation)
Space News reports that Orbital’s plan to launch its first Antares rocket by early March has gone by the boards:
A hold-down test of Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Antares rocket, a prerequisite for the launch vehicle’s maiden flight, likely will not be completed before April because of ongoing tests and certification work on the vehicle’s launch pad at Wallops Island, Va., a launch official said.
Antares, formerly known as Taurus 2, is the rocket Orbital will use to launch the cargo-carrying Cygnus tug to the international space station under its $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. Orbital is supposed to begin flights under that contract this year, but it must first complete two Antares demonstration flights, which themselves cannot proceed until the hold-down test is completed. Orbital’s official launch schedule has the hold-down test slated to occur before the end of March.
But Reed said that the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority, the state entity that manages operations at the spaceport from which Orbital will launch, is still completing certification of individual systems. These include more than 130 pressurized vessels needed to support the launch of the liquid-fueled Antares. The authority is also working on what Reed called “integrated system performance and functional testing,” the purpose of which is to ensure that the various launch support systems and software at Orbital’s pad are working harmoniously.
Read the full story.
Posted on November 22, 2011, at 8:28 am .
Pad OA at Wallops Island. (Credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation)
GOV. McDONNEL PR – RICHMOND – Governor Bob McDonnell today released a study on the economic competitiveness of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VCSFA). The study, commissioned in response to the 2011 Virginia Appropriation Act, reviewed the governance, organization and competitive landscape for the VCSFA in order to identify the necessary steps to make the Mid Atlantic Spaceport (MARS), located on Wallops Island, the best commercial space launch facility in the country. The study was conducted by KPMG Corporate Finance.
Continue reading ‘Virginia Looks to Boost Wallops Island Commercial Spaceport’
Posted on September 26, 2011, at 5:30 am .
Pad OA at Wallops Island. (Credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation)
Virginians are pushing back against efforts by Florida to maintain its monopoly on human spaceflight missions. Jack Kennedy, a prominent backer of commercial space in Virginia, sent the following email to supporters on Saturday:
“Space Florida is getting really aggressive and negative to the possibility of human commercial space launch from Wallops Island, Virginia.
“I strongly urge you to communicate with Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Congressman Frank Wolf and Senator Mark Warner, in particular. ASK that they call upon Boeing to openly pledge to launch the Atlas-V from Virginia under the NASA Commercial Crew program by 2015.
“Your e-Mail, letter, and/or phone call to these three Congressional offices may go a long way to make human space flight from Virginia a reality (especially in the wake of the Florida push back against Virginia’s spaceport).
“Please act this week.”
Continue reading ‘Virginia Hits Back at Florida Over Human Spaceflight’
Posted on May 26, 2011, at 11:03 am .
Pad OA at Wallops Island. (Credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation)
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has signed legislation that will direct revenues generated by commercial spaceflight activities within the state toward expanding the Wallops Island spaceport. The measure currently impacts only one firm, Space Adventures.
“It is my goal to make Wallops Island the best spaceport in America and this legislation will direct revenue generated by commercial spaceflight to the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority encouraging significant growth of the aerospace industry in the Commonwealth,” McDonnell said in a statement.
Continue reading ‘Virginia Governor Signs Legislation to Bolster Wallops Island Spaceport’
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