After months of weighing competing bids, Orbital Science Corporation has decided to launch its new Taurus II rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia, instead of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Virginia Gov. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine made the announcement on Monday, ending months of uncertainty. The rocket will be launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.
Orbital Sciences, based in Reston, Virginia, is developing the Taurus II rocket to deliver cargo to the International Space Station under NASA’s COTS program. It will serve as an alternative to the space shuttle, which is due to be retired in 2010.
NASA’s decision to award the COTS contract to Orbital set off a competition between the two American states, which are promoting rival launch facilities. The decision is a setback for Florida, which is hoping to attract commercial companies in order to offset job losses resulting from the space shuttle’s retirement.
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The Spaceports blog reports that Orbital Sciences Corporation is expected to make a decision this week on whether to fly its COTS rocket out of Virginia or Florida.
Both states have been heavily lobbying the Reston, Virginia-based company, which is developing commercial transportation to the International Space Station under the NASA program. The company will choose between the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island or Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Jeff Foust of SpacePolitics.com reports that both Virginia and Hawaii advanced legislation this week to encourage commercial space ventures to locate in their states.
Virginia Governor Tom Kaine signed “zero-g, zero tax” legislation that:
“Grants an income tax exemption for income resulting from the sale of launch services to space flight participants or launch services intended to provide individuals the training or experience of a launch, without performing an actual launch. The bill also grants an income tax exemption for any gain recognized as a result of resupply services contracts for delivering payload entered into with the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services division of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or other space flight entity.”
Meanwhile, the Hawaii House of Representatives approved a bill
that appropriates funding for costs associated with seeking a spaceport license from the Federal Aviation Administration. Hawaii is attempting to lure commercial space operators to establish facilities in the state.
Orbital Sciences Corporation shares rose in the wake of NASA’s decision to award the Dulles, Virginia-based company a $170 million contract under its COTS program.
One analyst has predicted the contract could boost company income by 25 percent, potentially boosting earnings per share by about $6.
The COTS program is designed to encourage the development of commercial cargo and crew delivery vehicles for the International Space Station. Orbital plans to develop its Taurus II rocket, which would be launched from Wallops Island, Virginia. Orbital Sciences joins SpaceX of El Segundo, California in the COTS competition.
NASA’s decision to award $170 million in COTS funding to Orbital Sciences Corporation could prove to be a big boost to Virginia’s efforts to establish a commercial spaceport on Wallops Island.
The Dulles, Virginia-based company is leaning toward working with NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and the state’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport to demonstrate its new Taurus II rocket by 2010. If the program is successful, it could make Virginia’s Eastern Shore a major commercial space center.
“This is a real opportunity to see that happen. It’s significant,” said Billie Reed, executive director of the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority.
The Virginian-Pilot has more on the Virginia angle. Meanwhile, the Orlando Sentinel reports that although Orbital Sciences is leaning toward launching out of its home state, it has not closed the door on flights from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. KSC officials recently announced they were open to allowing private companies to build launch sites at the facility.
The Virginia General Assembly is considering legislation to exempt companies involved in commercial space flight from paying corporate income tax. The idea, dubbed “Zero-G, Zero-Tax,” is designed to boost efforts to build a commercial spaceport on Wallops Island.