Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport
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The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) is a commercial space launch facility located at the southern tip of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on the Delmarva Peninsula south of Chincoteague, Virginia.
Background
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. The spaceport, then known as the Virginia Space Flight Center, had been developed[when?] with a combination of federal, state and private sector funding, by the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VCSFA).[citation needed]
Facilities
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport has two active launch pads. A third was proposed, but never built.
Launch pad 0A (LP-0A) was built for the Conestoga rocket, which made its only flight in 1995.[1] The launch tower was subsequently demolished in September 2008,[2] and has now been rebuilt for use by the Orbital Sciences Antares.[3] The pad modifications for Antares included the construction of a Horizontal Integration Facility 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."[3]
Launch pad 0B (LP-0B) became operational in 1999,[4] and was subsequently upgraded with the construction of a mobile service tower, which was completed in 2004.[5] It remains active, and is currently used by Minotaur rockets.
A third launch pad at the complex, to be used by HAD rockets, was proposed[when?] but never used.[6]
Launch history
The first rocket to be launched from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport was an Orbital Sciences Minotaur I, at 12:00 GMT on 16 December 2006, with two spacecraft, TacSat-2 for the US Air Force, and GeneSat-1 for NASA.[7]
| Launch | Date (UTC) | Vehicle | Payload | Launch pad | Result | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | December 16, 2006 12:00 | Minotaur I | TacSat-2 / GeneSat-1 | Pad 0B | Success[7] | |
| 4 | May 19, 2009, 19:55[citation needed] | Minotaur I | TacSat-3 | Pad 0B | ||
| 5 | June 30, 2011 03:09[citation needed] | Minotaur I | USAF ORS-1 Satellite | Pad 0B | ||
| early April 2013 | Antares | Initial Antares test mission | Pad 0A | As of: 2012-07-27[8] | ||
| June 2013 | Antares | COTS Demo Mission | Pad 0A | As of: 2012-02-22[8] | ||
| Late 2012 | Antares | First Cygnus re-supply mission to ISS | Pad 0A | As of: 2012-02-22[8] | ||
| August 12-14 (night launch) | Minotaur V | LADEE | Pad 0B | As of: 2012-02-22[8] | ||
| 2013 | Antares | 2 ISS re-supply missions | Pad 0A | As of: 2012-02-22[8] | ||
| 2014 | Antares | 2 ISS re-supply missions | Pad 0A | As of: 2012-02-22[8] | ||
| 2015 | Antares | 2 ISS re-supply missions | Pad 0A | As of: 2012-02-22[8] | ||
See also
- Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Launch Pad 0
- Orbital Sciences Corporation
- 2010 in spaceflight
- 2011 in spaceflight
- 2012 in spaceflight
- Antares (rocket) Launch schedule
References
- ^ Wade, Mark. "Wallops Island LA0A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ "Launch Tower Demolition". GMB. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ a b Kyle, Ed (2011-05-14). "Taurus 2". Space Launch Report. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
- ^ "Facilities". Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Retrieved 2009-01-21. [dead link]
- ^ "Launch Pad 0-B" (PDF). Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Retrieved 2009-01-21. [dead link]
- ^ Wade, Mark. "Wallops Island LA0 HAD". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ a b Wade, Mark. "Wallops Island LA0B". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
- ^ a b c d e f g Bergin, Chris (2012-02-22). "Space industry giants Orbital upbeat ahead of Antares debut". NasaSpaceflight (not affiliated with NASA). Retrieved 29 March 2012.
External links
- Map: 37°50′36″N 75°28′41″W / 37.84333°N 75.47806°W
- Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport web site
- Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Implementation Plan, April 2004
- Wallops Flight Facility site
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