Drilling Offshore Virginia May Hurt Launches
Dow Jones Newswire
“The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is protesting a proposal to lease offshore Virginia for oil and natural gas development over concerns that drilling would interfere with rockets’ flight patterns.
“NASA fears that giant platforms would interfere with low-altitude suborbital rockets or make missile launchings from its Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. much more difficult, Keith Koehler, a NASA spokesman, told Dow Jones Newswires.”
Orbital Sciences Corporation will break ground on a new launch complex at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at a ceremony on October 6, according to published reports.
The new launch facility on Wallops Island in Virginia will support Orbital’s new Taurus II launch vehicle, which the company is developing under NASA’s COTS program. The rocket is designed to carry cargo and possibly crews to the International Space Station.
The space agency is funding two COTS programs. A California-based company, SpaceX, is building the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX will launch the rocket from a new complex on Cape Canaveral.
The next big thing in rocket power
The Virginian-Pilot
“A 5-in-1 experiment on hypersonic flight and rocket design is scheduled to launch early Friday from Wallops Island, carrying NASA and Navy payloads.
“The 10-minute flight, expected to reach 200 nautical miles in height, will end in the Atlantic Ocean. Information recorded during flight will last much longer, contributing to the development of jet-powered vehicles that can fly up to seven or eight times the speed of sound, or about 5,280 mph.”
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.
Deal for resupply rockets seen as chance for Wallops Island site to take off
Virginia Pilot
Wallops Spaceport wins $45M project
The Daily Times
Orbital Sciences chooses VA over FLA
Orlando Sentinel
Orbital Sciences Corp. seems to be taking its time in making a decision about where it will launch its new Taurus II rocket. WNDT-TV reports that officials at Wallops Island on are anxiously awaiting a decision on whether Orbital will stay in its home state of Virginia or go south to Florida.
Meanwhile, 20 members of Florida’s Congressional delegation have released a statement urging Orbital to locate its new launch facility at the Kennedy Space Center.
In other news:
- Russia and Kazakhstan have signed an agreement concerning joint cooperation in space exploration and the continued use of the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
- Officials in New Mexico are moving ahead with plans to create a tax district to support development of Spaceport America.
The Virginia General Assembly has approved the The 21st Century Capital Improvement Program, a bond program which among other things will provide funding for improvements to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island. The commonwealth is trying to attract commercial space companies to the facility.
I’ve looked at the actual bill, but I wasn’t able to figure out how much money would be devoted to the project. I may have missed it, or this could be something that will be determined later. The plan - which enjoys bipartisan support - needs approval from the Virginia Senate before it can be sent to Gov. Tim Kaine for signature.
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.
