RICHMOND, Va.—A satellite scheduled for launch from Virginia's Eastern Shore is designed to detect hidden enemy weapons and deliver their locations to U.S. combat troops, scientists testing the technology say.

The information would be especially suited to battle conditions in the rugged, mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, where the Obama administration is sending more troops.

If successful, the satellite could be developed for battlefield use in a year or two after its one-year orbit, according to scientists. It hopes to detect hidden tanks, buried explosives and other military equipment hidden by camoflauge.

The Air Force TacSet-3 satellite is scheduled to begin its orbit Tuesday, when a 69-foot-high Minotaur 1 rocket is set to blast off between 8 and 11 p.m. from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Atlantic. The rocket will also carry two secondary science experiments, including one involving yeast cells.

Scientists are hopeful the 880-pound satellite atop the $60 million spacecraft will deliver images and information with the speed and detail depicted in fictionalized movie accounts, such as Transformers.

Unlike Predator drones, which deliver black-and-white snapshots of activity that take time to analyze, the Raytheon Co. satellite will offer a rainbow of hyperspectral images — 400 different spectrums — and deliver them in 10 minutes.

It will orbit at 264 miles above Earth.

"What that enables you to do is to look down at the battlefield and determine if you have, say, a tank under a tree," said Edward Gussin, Raytheon's program manager for ARTEMIS — or advanced responsive tactically effective military imaging spectrometer.

"That would be extremely valuable information without having to put people's lives at risk," Col. Scott Handy, mission director, said of the battlefield data the satellite could deliver.

Beyond peering through trees and camouflage, images supplied by ARTEMIS would also reveal heavily traveled routes on dirt roads, signaling troop movements. "We're at the forefront of what is now capable," he said.

After its test in space, "We're going to have a very good assessment for the operational utility of this kind of system," one of the project's scientists, Peter Wegner, said in a conference call this week from Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, Calif.

The NASA launch will be from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island. The spaceport is a cooperative venture, involving the states of Virginia and Maryland and Old Dominion University.

The spaceport is destined to see more launches under a nearly $2 billion NASA contract with Orbital Sciences of Dulles to fly eight cargo missions to the international space station.

A spokesman said planning and design phases of the launch pad are under way and construction should start later this summer.

Orbital officials have said they plan to demonstrate the new launch rocket in late 2010.

Orbital Sciences chooses VA over FLA

WASHINGTON -- A Virginia-based aerospace company announced today that it would develop a new line of spacecraft at Wallops Flight Facility in its home state -- dashing Florida hopes that Orbital Sciences would pick Cape Canaveral.
Florida lawmakers and business leaders for months had lobbied Orbital Sciences to consider Cape Canaveral as its launch site when it won $170 million in NASA funding. The money is aimed at developing a rocket and capsule that could supply the International Space Station.

"While I'm disappointed with Orbital's decision to launch out of Wallops in Virginia, I look forward to sitting down with Orbital for a briefing on Florida's strengths and weaknesses from a launch industry perspective,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Oviedo. “Today's disappointing announcement highlights Florida's need to redouble our efforts to attract space business to Cape Canaveral. “
But it was an uphill climb from the beginning.  When Orbital Sciences won the contract in February, Antonio Elias, its executive vice president, said Florida was the underdog. "Our standing -- as a Virginia-based company -- is that we would favor the home state,” he said at the time.
Today's decision means that Florida and Virginia will split the two companies working on NASA’s COTS project, a seed program meant to encourage commercial flights to the space station. The other company, SpaceX, plans to launch its spacecraft from Florida. 
NASA officials hope the COTS program – if successful – would allow the agency to concentrate on other tasks other than supplying the international space station. It also could give NASA a domestic alternative to relying on the Russians to reach the station in the five-year gap between the space shuttle’s retirement in 2010 and the launch of its successor planned for 2015.
U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md, applauded the news, noting that she has pushed to give Wallops $20 million to upgrade its facility since 2002.  Her office estimated about 35 percent of NASA employees at the facility live in Maryland.
“Orbital’s selection of the Wallops Flight Facility is great news for Maryland’s Eastern Shore!  If Orbital’s rocket is successful, Wallops could become a hub for cargo services to the International Space Station, bringing new jobs and economic development opportunities to the lower shore,” she said in a statement.

Eastern Shore News/Daily Times

ACCOMACK: Wallops Spaceport wins $45M project
BY CAROL VAUGHN • STAFF WRITER • JUNE 9, 2008
WALLOPS ISLAND — The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport will be the base of operations for Orbital Sciences Corporation’s new $45 million space launch vehicle project, using a new medium class rocket, Taurus II.
The first mission is scheduled for late 2010.
Orbital officials announced the decision during a conference call to Gov. Tim Kaine’s office Monday afternoon.

NASA in February selected Orbital to demonstrate a new space transportation system for delivering cargo to the International Space Station once the space shuttle program ends in 2010.

NASA will invest $170 million and Orbital $150 million over three years in the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) project. The first phase of the project will involve development and demonstration of a cargo delivery system to low Earth orbit, using a new spacecraft called Cygnus and interchangeable modules for different cargo types. The system will be launched on the Taurus II rocket and will be capable of delivering up to 2,300 kilograms of cargo to the space station and to return 1,200 kilograms to Earth.

Orbital’s COTS demonstration mission is set to take place in late 2010. If NASA chooses Orbital to do cargo delivery to the space station, those missions will also originate from the spaceport at Wallops beginning in 2011.

“This is terrific news — a real milestone in economic development for the Shore and important not just to us but also to the entire Commonwealth,” said Del. Lynwood Lewis, who represents Accomack County in the Virginia General Assembly.

New rocket program coming to Wallops Island spaceport

By the Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. - Governor Timothy Kaine says Orbital Sciences Corporation will invest $45 million to assemble, test and launch a new rocket at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located at "Wallops Island" in Accomack County.

The Taurus II rocket program is expected to create about 125 new jobs at Orbital's Dulles headquarters and at the spaceport.

The rocket's first mission 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.

Orbital manufactures small rockets and space systems, including satellites and launch vehicles, for commercial, military and civil government customers.
More than 15,000 rockets have launched from Wallops Island since the spaceport's founding in 1945

Orbital Chooses Virginia As Launch Site

By Keira Benson
(WALLOPS ISLAND, VA -- WMDT)

After months of anticipation, Orbital Sciences has chosen the base at Wallops Island as a base of operations for the company's Taurus II rocket. That rocket is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station by the end of the 2010.

Between now and then, Orbital will invest a reported $45 million in Virginia to assemble, test and launch the rocket. Governor Tim Kaine says the program will bring about 125 new jobs to the Orbital's headquarters in Dulles, Virginia and to the base at Wallops. And officials from the Greater Salisbury Committee say the economic benefits won't stop there.

Kathleen McLain, with Greater Salisbury and WMDT General Manager, says, "A lot of small businesses are going to spring up around Wallops area to manufacture components needed for this, they estimate one billion dollars over five years. It's a huge economic impact for all of Delmarva."

The Spaceport in Florida was also in competition for the project. For reaction from Senator Barbara Mikulski click on 47 Weblinks.

Deal for resupply rockets seen as chance for Wallops Island site to take off

By Jacob Geiger
Virginia will serve as the launching site for a new generation of satellite and supply rockets to be launched by Orbital Sciences Corp., beating out a bid from Florida.
The rockets will be sent into space from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced Monday.
The decision could make the spaceport at Wallops, which 18 months ago re-emerged as a viable launch site for private companies, a hub for resupply missions for the international space station.
"This is like an anchor tenant," said Billie Reed, the spaceport's director, "It's a major tenant and a major program."
But before the first demonstration launch can occur - scheduled for late 2010 - the launch pads at the state -
supported spaceport will need a major upgrade.
"We'll be starting almost immediately," Reed said. "One of our launch pads... will be completely rebuilt and strengthened."
Reed also said a new fueling system and rocket assembly structure will be built to prepare Orbital's nearly 140-foot-tall Taurus II rockets for flight.
The new facilities are expected to lead to at least 50 new jobs on the Eastern Shore, and Orbital may hire as many as 75 new employees at its headquarters in Loudoun County.
In February, Orbital won a $170 million grant from NASA. That money and $150 million from the company will be used to demonstrate Orbital's ability to run the supply missions.
A decision on the supply
contract is expected later this year.
Economic development officials in Florida - anxious about possible job cuts at Cape Canaveral when the space shuttle program is retired in 2010 - put together a package to entice Orbital south.
But Orbital spokesman Barry Beneski said Orbital picked Wallops over the Florida launch site in part because the company had sent up other rockets from Wallops.
Beneski said the company could launch four to six Taurus II rockets a year once the program is fully operational. Some of those would be satellite launches while others - if the company wins the resupply contract - would head for the space station.
Orbital has launched two Minotaur I rockets from Wallops with Defense Department satellites aboard, and Beneski said an Air Force satellite will be launched by the company from the site later this year.
The General Assembly passed a $16 million bond issue this session to help Wallops and the spaceport handle the larger rockets.
More than 15,000 rockets have been launched from Wallops since the spaceport was founded in 1945. But for the past decade or so, it has operated in obscurity, incapable of launching larger rockets.
The spaceport is owned by the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority, a state agency similar to airport or port authorities. The state of Maryland also contributes money to the spaceport.
Reed, who is the director of the spaceflight authority, said commonwealth officials have been extremely helpful as the spaceport tried to win over Orbital.
"To get $16 million in a bad, tight budget year is phenomenal," Reed said.
The full upgrade could cost up to $40 million.
Reed said he hopes the state will help out with more money in future years.
Orbital is expected to invest a total of $45 million at Wallops and in at its facility near Dulles International Airport.
The spaceport long has been a small operation, but Reed thinks this contract could be a big step forward.
"This is what everyone dreams of," he said.

By Raquel Rodriguez
FOX 35 NEWS
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35, Orlando)

The phase 1 bid for NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services has gone to Wallops, Virginia.

The two phases of (COTS) will take supplies and astronauts to the International Space Station after the shuttle retires in 2010 and its replacement Ares around 2015.

Orbital’s phase 1 flights include safe disposal or return of spacecraft that successfully dock at ISS and deliver cargo. The test flights are scheduled to begin in 2009.

Congressman Tom Feeney R-Oviedo had met with Orbital executives and encouraged them to use Florida as their launch site.

"While I'm disappointed with Orbital's decision to launch out of Wallops in Virginia,” Feeney said in a statement, “I look forward to sitting down with Orbital for a briefing on Florida's strengths and weaknesses from a launch industry perspective.”

Feeney cosponsored the NASA Reauthorization Bill which included a requirement that NASA study future commercial launch ranges to be located near current federal ranges most of which are in Florida. The Bill will be considered by the full House Wednesday. 
“I plan to continue to fight to complete a vision for Florida's Space Coast to become a 21st century international aerospace and space epicenter,” Feeney added.

Maryland Gov. Applauds Orbital Sciences Corporation Announcement to Base Operations in Mid-Atlantic Area
Wallops Major Employer for Maryland’s Eastern Shore Residents; Big Business for State

June 9th, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, MD -- June 9, 2008 – Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley today applauded Orbital Sciences Corporation’s announcement to select their base of operations in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, located at the NASA Wallops Island Flight Facility. Approximately 35 percent of Wallops employees are residents of Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
“Orbital’s announcement ensures that Maryland will continue to be a global leader in the development of the next generation of cutting-edge technologies,” said Governor O’Malley. “This new facility will help generate jobs in the Eastern Shore, building on the brainpower and skills of our people to create greater opportunities and advance the cause of science.”
At the Wallops facility, Orbital will develop its Taurus II rocket, which will be designed to take over cargo re-supply missions to the international space station starting in 2010 when the space shuttle stops flying. All cargo re-supply missions to the space station would be launched from Wallops. The new development would make Wallops a major international launch site and attract new business for the region. The development would also bring 50-100 new jobs to the area, and would generate $250 million in economic development for the Eastern Shore.
"This is another great example of how Maryland and Virginia are working together to protect our shared resources while bringing jobs and economic opportunities to the region,” said DBED Secretary David W Edgerley. “Orbital's selection of Wallops Island is a major victory for the whole State of Maryland and will ultimately bring new residents and significant investment to Maryland’s Eastern Shore.”
"This project is regional economic development at its best,” said Worcester County Economic Development Director, Jerry Redden. “We look forward to working with Orbital to help them staff up at Wallops Island and maximize the economic opportunities for Marylanders.”
Maryland is home to the highest percentage of professional and technical workers nationwide, and was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 3rd most highly skilled workforce in the nation. To help bolster the State’s already strong workforce, earlier this month, Governor O’Malley led a trade mission to Israel to strengthen the ties between Israel and Maryland’s technology and bioscience industries. During the week-long mission, the Governor met with a number of high level Israeli business executives, and as a result, affirmed that two leading Israeli companies plan to open offices in Maryland, and Israel’s largest bioscience company plans to continue its commitment to the State.
Source: Maryland Governor

Orbital Sciences adds 125 jobs in Virginia

Orbital Sciences Corp. will create 125 jobs as part of a new rocket it is developing for NASA.
The jobs will be split between Orbital's Northern Virginia headquarters and Wallops Island in Accomack County on the state's eastern shore. Dulles-based Orbital will spend $45 million to assemble, test and launch the Taurus II rocket for a 2010 NASA cargo delivery demonstration mission to the International Space Station.
If NASA selects Orbital for the actual cargo missions, those flights would begin 2010 and also originate from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island. Orbital develops and manufactures small rockets and space systems for commercial and government clients. Its primary products are satellites and launch vehicles, including low Earth-orbit spacecraft.
"Our team looks forward to becoming a catalyst for growth in the local economy as our operations take shape over the next several years," said Antonio Elias, Orbital's executive vice president and general manager of its advanced programs group, in a statement.

Orbital Picks Virginia Over Florida To Host Taurus 2 (SPACE)

By Brian Berger And Becky Iannotta, Space News Staff Writers
SPACE.com , June 10, 2008
WASHINGTON — Orbital Sciences Corp. informed Virginia and Maryland officials June 9 that the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located at NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern shore will serve as the base of operations for the company's planned Taurus 2 launch vehicle.
"We came to the conclusion in the end that the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport offered the best location for us," Orbital spokesman Barry Beneski said June 9. "There wasn't one thing that tipped the scales for us; it was a whole host of reasons. Both states did a great job — they pulled in all aspects of state government and local economic development."
The decision is a setback for Florida officials who had hoped to woo Orbital Sciences away from Wallops to Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Orbital of Dulles, Va., is developing the Taurus 2 rocket and an automated cargo carrier with approximately $170 million in financial assistance from NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services demonstration program. The company aims to conduct its first international space station-bound demonstration flight by the end of 2010.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), the chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations commerce, justice, science subcommittee, hailed Orbital's decision as great news for Maryland.
"This is the biggest thing to hit the Eastern Shore since Captain John Smith's anchor," Mikulski said in a statement announcing Orbital's choice. Mikulski said she has helped steer more than $20 million to Wallops since 2002 to fund infrastructure upgrades as the launch range.
"If Orbital's rocket is successful, Wallops could become a hub for cargo services to the international space station, bringing new jobs and economic development opportunities to the lower shore," she said.
Billie Reed, director of Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, which operates the Wallops spaceport, said work will begin immediately to renovate a launch pad — previously used for a rocket dubbed Conestoga that flew only once — that has been defunct for a decade.
"We have to work diligently to meet their demonstration goals by 2010," Reed said, adding that plans to upgrade the pad already are in place. "We've been working with Orbital for quite some time — almost a year and a half — so it's not like it's a cold start."
Orbital Sciences has launched 11 rockets from the Wallops Island facility, giving the company a familiarity that Reed believes might have helped in the company's decision. He also credited the state of Virginia for coming through with a $16 million bond package for facility renovations during a tight budget year.
Rep. Tom Feeney, the Florida Republican whose congressional district includes NASA's Kennedy Space Center and the neighboring launch range, said in a statement he would have liked to have seen Orbital Sciences choose Florida.
"While I'm disappointed with Orbital's decision to launch out of Wallops in Virginia, I look forward to sitting down with Orbital for a briefing on Florida's strengths and weaknesses from a launch industry perspective," Feeney said in a statement.

Baltimore Sun
Contractor picks Wallops Island facility

June 10, 2008
WASHINGTON A Washington-area space contractor has chosen NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore of Virginia as its operations base for a new rocket system to resupply the International Space Station. Roughly one-third of the work force at the NASA facility lives in Maryland. Orbital Sciences Corp. will invest $45 million in improvements and hire 125 new employees between its Dulles, Va., headquarters and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, company spokesman Barron Beneski said. Orbital is planning a demonstration launch of its Taurus II rocket in late 2010. While the company is competing for the contract to carry cargo to the International Space Station after the space shuttle is retired in 2010, it also plans to use the Taurus II to launch satellites, Beneski said. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski called the news "the biggest thing to hit the Eastern Shore since Capt. John Smith's anchor." "Orbital's selection of the Wallops Flight Facility is great news for Maryland's Eastern Shore," the Maryland Democrat said in a statement. "If Orbital's rocket is successful, Wallops could become a hub for cargo services to the International Space Station, bringing new jobs and economic development opportunities to the Lower Shore."

MIKULSKI THRILLED AT WALLOPS ANNOUNCEMENT

June 9, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee, celebrated the announcement this afternoon that the Orbital Sciences Corporation has selected the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), located at NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility, as its base of operations for the company's new Taurus II rocket. Orbital will invest approximately $45 million to assemble, test and launch the Taurus II space launch vehicle. The Wallops facility is a major employer for residents of the Eastern Shore, with approximately 35 percent of its NASA employees living in Maryland.

Since 2002, Chairwoman Mikulski has provided over $20 million to upgrade Wallops infrastructure – from broadband service to launch-related infrastructure. She has also funded the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, under which Orbital is developing its Taurus II rocket.

The Chairwoman's statement is below:

“This is the biggest thing to hit the Eastern Shore since Captain John Smith’s anchor!

“Orbital’s selection of the Wallops Flight Facility is great news for Maryland’s Eastern Shore! If Orbital’s rocket is successful, Wallops could become a hub for cargo services to the International Space Station, bringing new jobs and economic development opportunities to the lower shore.

As Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that funds NASA, investing in Wallops has been one of my highest priorities, and I'm proud to say the investments have paid off. I will continue my track record of investing in Wallops, the only NASA-owned launch facility and a critical national asset.”

Maryland Gov. Applauds Orbital Sciences Corporation Announcement to Base Operations in Mid-Atlantic Area

June 9,2008

Wallops Major Employer for Maryland’s Eastern Shore Residents; Big Business for State
ANNAPOLIS, MD -- June 9, 2008 – Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley today applauded Orbital Sciences Corporation’s announcement to select their base of operations in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, located at the NASA Wallops Island Flight Facility. Approximately 35 percent of Wallops employees are residents of Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
“Orbital’s announcement ensures that Maryland will continue to be a global leader in the development of the next generation of cutting-edge technologies,” said Governor O’Malley. “This new facility will help generate jobs in the Eastern Shore, building on the brainpower and skills of our people to create greater opportunities and advance the cause of science.”
At the Wallops facility, Orbital will develop its Taurus II rocket, which will be designed to take over cargo re-supply missions to the international space station starting in 2010 when the space shuttle stops flying. All cargo re-supply missions to the space station would be launched from Wallops. The new development would make Wallops a major international launch site and attract new business for the region. The development would also bring 50-100 new jobs to the area, and would generate $250 million in economic development for the Eastern Shore.
"This is another great example of how Maryland and Virginia are working together to protect our shared resources while bringing jobs and economic opportunities to the region,” said DBED Secretary David W Edgerley. “Orbital's selection of Wallops Island is a major victory for the whole State of Maryland and will ultimately bring new residents and significant investment to Maryland’s Eastern Shore.”
"This project is regional economic development at its best,” said Worcester County Economic Development Director, Jerry Redden. “We look forward to working with Orbital to help them staff up at Wallops Island and maximize the economic opportunities for Marylanders.”
Maryland is home to the highest percentage of professional and technical workers nationwide, and was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 3rd most highly skilled workforce in the nation. To help bolster the State’s already strong workforce, earlier this month, Governor O’Malley led a trade mission to Israel to strengthen the ties between Israel and Maryland’s technology and bioscience industries. During the week-long mission, the Governor met with a number of high level Israeli business executives, and as a result, affirmed that two leading Israeli companies plan to open offices in Maryland, and Israel’s largest bioscience company plans to continue its commitment to the State.
Source: Maryland Governor

om Feeney's Statement on Orbital's Decision to Launch in Virginia

June 9, 2008

(Washington, DC) - Tom Feeney (R-Oviedo) today released the following statement following Orbital's announcement that they will launch their Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Phase I flights out of Wallops in Virginia. Tom Feeney met with Orbital senior executives and urged them to locate their COTS launch site at Cape Canaveral.
"While I'm disappointed with Orbital's decision to launch out of Wallops in Virginia, I look forward to sitting down with Orbital for a briefing on Florida's strengths and weaknesses from a launch industry perspective.
"I thank Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp and Space Florida CEO Steve Koehler for putting together an incentive package to lure Orbital to the Space Coast. Today's disappointing announcement highlights Florida's need to redouble our efforts to attract space business to Cape Canaveral.
"On the bright side, the NASA Reauthorization Bill that I cosponsored as Ranking Member of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, passed the full Science and Technology Committee last week and included a requirement that NASA study future commercial launch ranges to be located near current federal ranges. I plan to continue to fight to complete a vision for Florida's Space Coast to become a 21st century international aerospace and space epicenter," said Feeney.
The NASA Reauthorization Bill will be considered by the full House this Wednesday.