Gov. Bob McDonnell announced on Monday that the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority and Dulles-based Orbital Sciences Corporation have reached a new agreement to govern their working relationship and allocation of assets at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.
Pursuant to an earlier agreement entered into in 2008, Orbital partnered with the VCSFA to develop and construct improvements to the liquid-fuel-capable launch facility at MARS in order to accommodate launches of Orbital’s Antares™ rocket. These improvements are expected to be completed later this month.
“The Commonwealth’s partnership with Orbital will kick off a new era of commercial aerospace activity throughout the Commonwealth. As the U.S. space program increases its reliance on the commercial sector, these types of partnerships will not only help keep America competitive in the space industry, but will help create much-needed jobs and economic development,” McDonnell said.
Among the terms of the Second Memorandum of Understanding, Orbital and the VCSFA agree:
· Orbital will launch 10 Antares missions from MARS, including one test flight, one demonstration flight, and eight resupply missions to the International Space Station
· The Commonwealth will fund completion of the improvements at MARS to support the Antares missions and future customers
· The VCFSA will own and operate all non-Antares-specific assets that can be used by future additional customers
The second memorandum of understanding also addresses use of MARS by other customers during the term of Orbital’s resupply missions.
“This new agreement with the VCSFA demonstrates the type of partnership that will be critical to the future success of the commercial aerospace industry in the United States,” said David W. Thompson, Orbital’s chairman and CEO. “As a Virginia-headquartered company, Orbital greatly appreciates Gov. McDonnell’s efforts to advance this critical project, and we look forward to continuing to work with his administration and the VCSFA as we expand our commercial space activities in Virginia.”
“MARS is one of only four commercial facilities licensed in the U.S. to launch rockets into orbit,” said VCSFA Executive Director Dale Nash. “Our partnership with Orbital not only expands our launch capabilities, but demonstrates to the entire space community that Virginia is a leader in the commercial aerospace industry. The VCSFA looks forward to continuing to work with Orbital to support their critical operations at MARS and continue to grow the commercial aerospace industry in Virginia.”
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