Virginia takes another “giant leap” in spaceport development
By JR Hoeft | Monday, June 9th, 2008 | Catch-All
According to a press release from Governor Tim Kaine:
Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced that Dulles, Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corporation has confirmed its selection of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), located at Wallops Island in Accomack County on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, as its base of operations for the company’s new Taurus II rocket. Orbital will invest approximately $45 million in Virginia to assemble, test and launch the Taurus II space launch vehicle. The rocket program will also create approximately 125 new jobs in the state, which will be based both at Orbital’s Dulles headquarters and at the Wallops Island launch site.
The first mission of the Taurus II rocket is scheduled for late 2010. It will be the launch vehicle for a joint NASA and Orbital cargo delivery demonstration mission to the International Space Station (ISS). If NASA selects Orbital for operational cargo missions to the ISS later this year, those missions would also originate from MARS, beginning in 2011.
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About the author
Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
Comments
2 Responses to "Virginia takes another “giant leap” in spaceport development"
Sweet! I love space stuff.
Awesome, that’s a much shorter drive than cape canaveral to see a launch. and by then the boys should be old enough to appreciate it too (currently a visit to the backroads behind the airport to see the planes land and take off is entertainment enough
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