Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport#LP-0B

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vaspace.org/index.php/about-virginia-space/history-of-mars|title=History of MARS|website=www.vaspace.org|access-date=28 October 2020}} 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.{{Cite web |date=2003-02-07 |title=Director and Personnel of the Virginia Space Flight Center at the Wallops Flight Facility |url=http://www.vaspace.org/personnel.html |access-date=2022-07-20 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030207054927/http://www.vaspace.org/personnel.html |archive-date=7 February 2003 |url-status=dead}}

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.{{Cite web |date=2003-02-07 |title=Virginia Space Flight Center |url=http://www.vaspace.org/index.html |access-date=2022-07-20 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030207054614/http://www.vaspace.org/index.html |archive-date=7 February 2003 |url-status=dead}}

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. 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.{{Cite web |title=Space: The Final Frontier Starts at Wallops Island |url=http://www.virginiaplaces.org/transportation/space.html |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=www.virginiaplaces.org}}

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).

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.

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.

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.

File:First Antares rocket on Launch Pad 0A of the Wallops Flight Facility.jpg on Launch Pad 0A. At left is a water tower to supply water for sound suppression.]]

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport has three active orbital launch pads.

File:Ladee 9 4 13 nasa edge 0.jpg rocket at Launch Pad 0B in September 2013 ahead of the launch of LADEE.]]

Pad 0A was built in the 1990s for the Conestoga rocket, which made its only flight in 1995.{{cite web |url=http://www.astronautix.com/sites/waldla0a.htm|title=Wallops Island LA0A|last=Wade|first=Mark|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|access-date=2009-01-21|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120215219/http://astronautix.com/sites/waldla0a.htm|archive-date=2008-11-20}}

The launch tower was subsequently demolished in September 2008,{{cite web|url=http://www.gmbnet.com/index.cfm?method=projects.project&projectID=56&categoryID=1|title=Launch Tower Demolition |publisher=GMB|access-date=2009-01-21|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221015125/http://gmbnet.com/index.cfm?method=projects.project&projectID=56&categoryID=1|archive-date=2009-02-21}} and the pad has since been rebuilt for use by the Northrop Grumman Antares.{{cite web|first=Ed|last=Kyle |url=http://www.spacelaunchreport.com/taurus2.html|date=2011-05-14|publisher=Space Launch Report|title=Taurus 2|access-date=2011-12-19}}

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".

The facility suffered significant damage during the 28 October 2014 Antares launch failure, according to NASA officials in the immediate aftermath.{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/28/us/nasa-rocket-explodes/|title=Unmanned NASA-contracted rocket explodes; damage was 'significant'|last=Botelho|first=Gerg|publisher=CNN|access-date=2014-10-28}}

Preliminary estimates for rebuilding the pad indicated the cost should be no more than {{USD|20 million}}.{{cite news|last1=Foust|first1=Jeff|title=Virginia May Seek Federal Funds for Wallops Spaceport Repairs|url=http://www.spacenews.com/article/launch-report/42620virginia-may-seek-federal-funds-for-wallops-spaceport-repairs|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141201140224/http://www.spacenews.com/article/launch-report/42620virginia-may-seek-federal-funds-for-wallops-spaceport-repairs|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 1, 2014|access-date=2014-12-01|work=Space News|date=2014-11-21 }} By May 2015, that estimate had been revised down to {{USD|13 million}} and repairs were expected to be completed by September or October 2015 with the next planned launch in March 2016.{{cite news|url= http://spacenews.com/officials-onus-on-orbital-atk-for-wallops-island-repairs/|title= With $2 Million Left on Wallops Repair Bill, NASA and Virginia Look to Orbital ATK To Dig Deeper|publisher= Space News|first= Dan|last= Leone|date= May 15, 2015|access-date= July 19, 2015}} On September 30, 2015, the spaceport announced repairs on pad 0A had been completed.{{cite web|url= http://www.vaspace.org/index.php/8-news/18-mid-atlantic-regional-spaceport-launch-pad-0a-repair-completion|title= Completion Of Repairs at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Launch Pad 0A|publisher= vaspace.org|date= September 30, 2015|access-date= October 31, 2015|archive-date= January 17, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180117131401/http://www.vaspace.org/index.php/8-news/18-mid-atlantic-regional-spaceport-launch-pad-0a-repair-completion|url-status= dead}}

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 Eclipse alongside Firefly Aerospace, based on the Antares 330 but sporting a liquid-fueled second stage.{{cite web |last1=Davenport |first1=Justin |title=Northrop Grumman and Firefly’s Antares 330 and MLV plans take shape |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2023/08/northrop-grumman-mlv/ |website=NASASpaceflight.com |publisher=NASASpaceflight |access-date=12 September 2023}}

For sound suppression and cooling the pad during launches, there is a {{cvt|307|ft}}-tall water tower.{{cite web |last1=Davenport |first1=Justin |title=Northrop Grumman and Firefly’s Antares 330 and MLV plans take shape |url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2014/10/31/initial-assessment-shows-antares-pad-intact/|website=NASASpaceflight.com |publisher=NASASpaceflight |access-date=12 September 2023}}

Pad 0B became operational in 1999,{{cite web|url=http://www.marsspaceport.com/facilities.php|title=Facilities|publisher=Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport |access-date=2009-01-21|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016101817/http://www.marsspaceport.com/facilities.php|archive-date=October 16, 2008}} and was subsequently upgraded with the construction of a mobile service tower, which was completed in 2004.{{cite web|url=http://www.marsspaceport.com/pdfs/0-B%20FacStudy.pdf |title=Launch Pad 0-B|publisher=Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport|access-date=2009-01-21|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704080504/http://www.marsspaceport.com/pdfs/0-B%20FacStudy.pdf|archive-date=July 4, 2008}} 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.

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),{{cite news |last1=Powers |first1=Kelly |title=Launch platform marks milestone |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99970735/launch-platform-marks-milestone/ |access-date=18 April 2022 |work=The Daily Times |date=17 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418130817/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99970735/launch-platform-marks-milestone/ |archive-date=18 April 2022 |location=Salisbury, Maryland |url-status=live |via=Newspapers.com }} 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.{{Cite web|title=Rocket Lab tests Electron on new Virginia launch pad|url=https://spacenews.com/rocket-lab-tests-electron-on-new-virginia-launch-pad/|date=2020-04-30|website=SpaceNews.com|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-24}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rocketlabusa.com/about-us/updates/|title=Updates|website=Rocket Lab|access-date=28 October 2020}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rocketlabusa.com/launch/launch-sites/|title=Rocket Lab {{!}} Our Launch Sites|website=Rocket Lab|language=en|access-date=2018-12-30}}

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".{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2023/01/virginia-is-for-launch-lovers/|title=Rocket Lab conducts first Electron launch from American soil|website=NASASpaceflight|access-date=2023-01-24}}{{Cite web |last=Harwood |first=William |date=2023-01-24 |title=Rocket Lab launches 3 satellites in first mission from U.S. soil |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rocket-lab-launches-three-satellites-in-first-mission-from-u-s-soil/ |access-date=2023-01-25 |website=CBS News |language=en-US}} Since then, LC-2 has seen several orbital Electron launches, including a handful of suborbital missions by the HASTE configuration of Electron.

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.{{Cite web|url=https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=46744.msg2532314#msg2532314|title=Rocket Lab General Discussion Thread|website=NASASpaceflight|access-date=2023-11-04}}

{{Wallops launch pad map}}

{{Portal|Spaceflight|Virginia}}

• Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Launch Pad 0
• Orbital Sciences Corporation
• Rocket Lab

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category multi|Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A|Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0B|width=22em}}

• Map: {{Coord|37|50|36|N|75|28|41|W|format=dms|display=inline,title|type:airport_scale:50000_region:US-VA|name=Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport}}
• [http://www.marsspaceport.com/ Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport web site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905231818/http://www.marsspaceport.com/ |date=2015-09-05 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070227103326/http://www.mistusa.net/governor_report.pdf Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Implementation Plan, April 2004]
• [http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/home/ Wallops Flight Facility site]

{{Wallops Island}}

{{Spaceport}}

{{Rocket Lab}}

Category:Buildings and structures in Accomack County, Virginia

Category:Rocket launch sites in the United States

Category:Spaceports in the United States