Ready to rocket (Image: Orbital)
VIRGINIA is for lovers – especially lovers of rockets. On 17 September aerospace firm of Dulles announced to launch cargo runs to the International Space Station (ISS) from a private spaceport on the state’s eastern coast.
If Orbital’s pre-mission tests go as planned next month, their first demonstration flight could happen by the end of the year, and the on Wallops Island will become the first commercial spaceport to launch a mission to the ISS. The new deal formalises Orbital’s use of the Virginia spaceport, where a launch pad has been built to send the company’s Antares rocket beyond the stratosphere.
“We’re down to the last operational tests to get certified by NASA that the pad is safe to use,” says Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski.
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