Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport
Encyclopedia
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Wallops Flight Facility
Wallops Flight Facility
Wallops Flight Facility , located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, is operated by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, primarily as a rocket launch site to support science and exploration missions for NASA and other U.S. government agencies...
on the Delmarva Peninsula
Delmarva Peninsula
The Delmarva Peninsula is a large peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by most of Delaware and portions of Maryland and Virginia...
south of Chincoteague
Chincoteague
Chincoteague may refer to:Geography*Chincoteague Bay, a bay on the coast of Maryland and Virginia*Chincoteague Channel, a channel in Virginia connecting Chincoteague Bay and Chincoteague Inlet*Chincoteague Inlet, an inlet on the coast of Virginia...
, Virginia.
Background
In July 2003, Governors Robert EhrlichRobert Ehrlich
Robert Leroy "Bob" Ehrlich, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 60th Governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. A Republican, he became governor after defeating Democratic opponent Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a member of the Kennedy family, 51% to 48% in the 2002 elections...
of Maryland and Mark Warner
Mark Warner
Mark Robert Warner is an American politician and businessman, currently serving in the United States Senate as the junior senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Warner was the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and is the honorary chairman of...
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. The spaceport, then known as the Virginia Space Flight Center, had been developed, with a combination of federal, state and private sector funding, by the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VCSFA).
Launch history
The first rocket to be launched from MARS was an Orbital Sciences MinotaurMinotaur (rocket)
The Minotaur is a family of American solid fuel rockets derived from converted Minuteman and Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles. They are built by Orbital Sciences Corporation....
, at 12:00 GMT on 16 December 2006, with two spacecraft, TacSat-2
TacSat-2
TacSat-2 is an experimental satellite built by the USAF's Air Force Research Laboratory with an operational life expected to be not more than one year as part of the 'Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration' program.-Purpose:The TacSat series of experimental spacecraft are designed to allow...
for the US Air Force, and GeneSat-1
GeneSat-1
GeneSat-1 is a fully automated, miniature spaceflight system that provides life support for bacterium. The system was launched into orbit on December 16, 2006 from Wallops Flight Facility. GeneSat-1 began to transmit data on its first pass over the mission's California ground station...
for NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
.
| Launch | Date (UTC) | Vehicle | Payload | Launch pad | Result | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | December 16, 2006 12:00 | Minotaur I Minotaur (rocket) The Minotaur is a family of American solid fuel rockets derived from converted Minuteman and Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles. They are built by Orbital Sciences Corporation.... |
TacSat-2 TacSat-2 TacSat-2 is an experimental satellite built by the USAF's Air Force Research Laboratory with an operational life expected to be not more than one year as part of the 'Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration' program.-Purpose:The TacSat series of experimental spacecraft are designed to allow... / GeneSat-1 GeneSat-1 GeneSat-1 is a fully automated, miniature spaceflight system that provides life support for bacterium. The system was launched into orbit on December 16, 2006 from Wallops Flight Facility. GeneSat-1 began to transmit data on its first pass over the mission's California ground station... |
Pad 0B Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Launch Pad 0 Launch Pad 0, Pad 0 or LP-0, also known as Launch Area 0 or LA-0, is a launch complex at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island in the United States. Prior to 2003, the complex was part of the Wallops Flight Facility. It consists of two individual launch pads, LP-0A and LP-0B... |
Success | |
| 2 | April 24, 2007 06:48 | Minotaur I Minotaur (rocket) The Minotaur is a family of American solid fuel rockets derived from converted Minuteman and Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles. They are built by Orbital Sciences Corporation.... |
NFIRE | Pad 0B | Success | |
| 3 | August 22, 2008 09:10 | ATK Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems Inc., most commonly known by its ticker symbol, ', is one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the United States with more than 18,000 employees in 22 states, Puerto Rico and internationally, and 2010 revenues in excess of an estimated... ALV X-1 ALV X-1 ALV X-1 was to be a sounding rocket flight of a vehicle developed by Alliant Techsystems called the ATK Launch Vehicle . The rocket carried the SOAREX-VI and Hy-BoLT experiments as payloads. The flight was launched at 09:10 GMT on 2008-08-22, and then the rocket was intentionally destroyed 20... |
Hy-BoLT and SOAREX VI | Pad 0B | Failure | Went off-course, destroyed by range safety Range safety In rocketry, range safety is assured by the systems which protect people and assets on the rocket range in cases when a launch vehicle might endanger them. Range safety is usually the responsibility of a Range Safety Officer... |
| 4 | May 19, 2009, 19:55 | Minotaur I Minotaur (rocket) The Minotaur is a family of American solid fuel rockets derived from converted Minuteman and Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles. They are built by Orbital Sciences Corporation.... |
TacSat-3 TacSat-3 TacSat-3 is the third in a series of U.S. military reconnaissance satellites. It was assembled in an Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate facility at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. The TacSat satellites are all designed to demonstrate the ability to provide real-time data... |
Pad 0B | Success | |
| 5 | June 30, 2011 03:09 | Minotaur I Minotaur I The Minotaur I, or just Minotaur is an American expendable launch system derived from the Minuteman II missile. It is used to launch small satellites for the US Government, and is a member of the Minotaur family of rockets produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation.Minotaur I rockets consist of the... |
USAF ORS-1 Satellite | Pad 0B | Success | |
| December 2011 | Taurus II Taurus II Taurus II is an expendable launch system being developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation. It is a two stage vehicle designed to launch payloads weighing up to into low-Earth orbit... |
COTS Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Commercial Orbital Transportation Services is a NASA program to coordinate the delivery of crew and cargo to the International Space Station by private companies. The program was announced on January 18, 2006... Demo Mission |
Pad 0A | Updated: 2011-05-07 | ||
| 2012 | Taurus II Taurus II Taurus II is an expendable launch system being developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation. It is a two stage vehicle designed to launch payloads weighing up to into low-Earth orbit... |
2 ISS ISS The ISS is the International Space Station.ISS may also refer to:* I See Stars, an American electronic rock band* ISS A/S, a Danish service company* Idea Star Singer, a Malayalam music reality show by Asianet TV... re-supply missions |
Pad 0A | Updated: 2011-05-07 | ||
| May 2013 | Minotaur V | LADEE | Pad 0B | Updated: 2011-01-03 | ||
| 2013 | Taurus II Taurus II Taurus II is an expendable launch system being developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation. It is a two stage vehicle designed to launch payloads weighing up to into low-Earth orbit... |
2 ISS ISS The ISS is the International Space Station.ISS may also refer to:* I See Stars, an American electronic rock band* ISS A/S, a Danish service company* Idea Star Singer, a Malayalam music reality show by Asianet TV... re-supply missions |
Pad 0A | Updated: 2011-01-03 | ||
| 2014 | Taurus II Taurus II Taurus II is an expendable launch system being developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation. It is a two stage vehicle designed to launch payloads weighing up to into low-Earth orbit... |
2 ISS ISS The ISS is the International Space Station.ISS may also refer to:* I See Stars, an American electronic rock band* ISS A/S, a Danish service company* Idea Star Singer, a Malayalam music reality show by Asianet TV... re-supply missions |
Pad 0A | Updated: 2011-01-03 | ||
| 2015 | Taurus II Taurus II Taurus II is an expendable launch system being developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation. It is a two stage vehicle designed to launch payloads weighing up to into low-Earth orbit... |
2 ISS ISS The ISS is the International Space Station.ISS may also refer to:* I See Stars, an American electronic rock band* ISS A/S, a Danish service company* Idea Star Singer, a Malayalam music reality show by Asianet TV... re-supply missions |
Pad 0A | Updated: 2011-01-03 | ||
Links
- Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Launch Pad 0Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Launch Pad 0Launch Pad 0, Pad 0 or LP-0, also known as Launch Area 0 or LA-0, is a launch complex at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island in the United States. Prior to 2003, the complex was part of the Wallops Flight Facility. It consists of two individual launch pads, LP-0A and LP-0B...
- Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport web site
- Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Implementation Plan, April 2004
- Wallops Flight Facility site
- Orbital Sciences CorporationOrbital Sciences CorporationOrbital Sciences Corporation is an American company which specializes in the manufacturing and launch of satellites. Its Launch Systems Group is heavily involved with missile defense launch systems...
- 2010 in spaceflight2010 in spaceflightThe year 2010 saw a number of notable events in spaceflight. These included the first test flight of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which is intended to conduct commercial resupply missions to the International Space Station under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, and the...
- 2011 in spaceflight2011 in spaceflightThe year 2011 saw a number of significant events in spaceflight, including the retirement of the Space Shuttle after its final flight in July 2011 and the launch of China's first space station module, Tiangong-1, in September...
- 2012 in spaceflight