#Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport

[spaceflight-insider]

Rocket Lab's Electron deploys two Capella radar satellites

Rocket Lab's #Electron deploys two Capella radar satellites. #StrongerTogether

Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket launched two Capella Space satellites into orbit from Launch Complex 2 in Virginia. Credit: Rocket Lab / Brady Kenniston With a loud roar and trail of flame, Rocket Lab’s Electron hoisted a pair of Capella Space satellites into the evening sky. (more…) “”

[robpegoraro]

The D.C. area's no-flying-needed way to see a space launch

Tuesday night treated me to the first space launch I’d seen in person–meaning close enough to hear it–since 2018. And unlike the previous three launches that I have been privileged to experience from that close, this one did not require a flight to Florida. Instead, only a three-hour drive lay between my house and Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, hosted at NASA’s Wallops Flight…

[michaelgabrill]

NRO Mission Launches from NASA Wallops on Electron Rocket

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility supported the successful launch of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket at 3:25 a.m. EDT, Thursday, March 21, from Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia.   The rocket carried three collaborative research missions for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The mission, dubbed NROL-123, was the first NRO mission to fly on […] from NASA https://ift.tt/Oo1Q6ci

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 10.28 (after 1900)

1918 – World War I: A new Polish government in western Galicia is established, triggering the Polish–Ukrainian War. 1918 – World War I: Czech politicians peacefully take over the city of Prague, thus establishing the First Czechoslovak Republic. 1919 – The U.S. Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson's veto, paving the way for Prohibition to begin the following January. 1922 – Italian fascists led by Benito Mussolini march on Rome and take over the Italian government. 1928 – Indonesia Raya, now the national anthem of Indonesia, is first played during the Second Indonesian Youth Congress. 1940 – World War II: Greece rejects Italy's ultimatum. Italy invades Greece through Albania a few hours later. 1942 – The Alaska Highway first connects Alaska to the North American railway network at Dawson Creek in Canada. 1948 – Paul Hermann Müller is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the insecticidal properties of DDT. 1949 – An Air France Lockheed Constellation crashes in the Azores, killing all 48 people on board. 1956 – Hungarian Revolution: A de facto ceasefire comes into effect between armed revolutionaries and Soviet troops, who begin to withdraw from Budapest. Communist officials and facilities come under attack by revolutionaries. 1958 – John XXIII is elected Pope. 1962 – The Cuban Missile Crisis ends and Premier Nikita Khrushchev orders the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba. 1965 – Pope Paul VI promulgates Nostra aetate, by which the Roman Catholic Church officially recognizes the legitimacy of non-Christian faiths. 1971 – Prospero becomes the only British satellite to be launched by a British rocket. 1982 – The Spanish general election begins fourteen years of rule by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. 1990 – Georgia holds its only free election under Soviet rule. 1995 – The Baku Metro fire sees 289 people killed and 270 injured. 2006 – A funeral service takes place at the Bykivnia graves for Ukrainians who were killed by the Soviet secret police. 2007 – Cristina Fernández de Kirchner becomes the first directly elected female President of Argentina. 2009 – The 28 October 2009 Peshawar bombing kills 117 and wounds 213. 2009 – NASA successfully launches the Ares I-X mission, the only rocket launch for its short-lived Constellation program. 2009 – US President Barack Obama signs the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.[5] 2013 – Five people are killed and 38 are injured after a car crashes into barriers at Tiananmen Square in China. 2014 – A rocket carrying NASA's Cygnus CRS Orb-3 resupply mission to the International Space Station explodes seconds after taking off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia. 2018 – Jair Bolsonaro is elected president of Brazil with 57 million votes, with Workers' Party candidate Fernando Haddad as the runner-up. It is the first time in 16 years that a Workers' Party candidate is not elected president.

[spacenutspod]

As the Cygnus S.S. Laurel Clark spends its first days berthed to the ISS, the successor to the Antares 230+ launch vehicle that launched it is taking shape in the facilities of Northrop Grumman (NG) and Firefly Aerospace.  The Antares 330/Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV), scheduled for its first flight in mid-2025, is being developed to conduct ISS cargo flights from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia. Its development started after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 crippled the existing Antares supply chain.  Antares 230+ and its predecessors used Russian engines and a Ukrainian-built first stage. The Russian engines are unavailable after Western nations, including the United States, applied sanctions, while the Ukrainian factory responsible for the first stage has been attacked by Russian forces. The Antares 330, based on a brand new first stage with seven Firefly Miranda engines using kerosene and liquid oxygen, is designed to use the existing launch and processing facilities that supported the S.S. Laurel Clark and most other NG Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract flights. Like earlier versions of Antares, the 330 will fly from Launch Pad 0A at Wallops. The facilities at Wallops that supported the original Antares launches are being modified to support the Antares 330 and MLV rockets. The pad is being upgraded to accommodate the wider first stage, the transporter erector is being reinforced to handle heavier loads, and the horizontal integration facility is being lengthened to accommodate the longer launch vehicles. Render of the Antares 330 vehicle. The first stage is to be used on the MLV as well. (Credit: Mack Crawford for NSF) The Antares 330 first stage is the linchpin of NG and Firefly’s future launch strategy, as it will also be used by the more capable MLV. The first stage’s Miranda engines are each capable of around 1,000 kilonewtons of thrust. Seven of these engines would generate just under 7,200 kilonewtons of thrust in a vacuum, which would be nearly double the thrust of the Antares 230+ first stage at 3,800 kilonewtons. This stage will be made out of carbon composite materials, like Rocket Lab’s Electron and Firefly’s Alpha rocket. Carbon composite assemblies aim to make the stage as lightweight as possible. The Miranda engine is currently in the development and testing phase. “Stubby” combustion chamber test articles have been built for initial testing of the engine, while the first full-size Miranda test article is being readied as well. Miranda engines will be mass-produced at Firefly Aerospace’s manufacturing and test facility in Briggs, Texas. The Antares 330 first stage, measuring 31 meters high and 4.3 meters in diameter, will also incorporate NG’s MACH avionics, which has been used on prior Antares vehicles. Like the Antares 230+, the Antares 330 will use the Castor 30XL solid rocket motor for its upper stage as well as the same payload fairing. The Castor 30XL solid propellant second stage of the Antares rocket that will take the NG-13 Cygnus to orbit. (Credit: Jacques van Oene for NSF) Antares 330 has a projected payload capacity of up to 10,500 kilograms to low-Earth orbit, as opposed to the Antares 230+ capacity of up to 8,120 kilograms to low-Earth orbit. This will enable heavier cargo loads to be sent up to ISS as part of the company’s CRS-2 contract. The MLV is a follow-on vehicle that will use the Antares 330 first stage along with a new liquid-fueled upper stage sporting a vacuum-optimized Miranda engine. Like other vacuum-optimized rocket engines, the upper stage’s Miranda engine will feature a much larger nozzle than the first stage engines will use. This enables the engine to function more efficiently at higher altitudes – the only region the engine will be firing in. The first Miranda “stubby” combustion chamber test article. (Credit: Firefly Aerospace) Like the first stage, the second stage will also feature carbon composite construction. Both stages will use graphite/epoxy tanks with a common dome, as well as the aforementioned NG MACH avionics. The second stage will be the same diameter as the first stage, while the carbon composite fairing will have a diameter of 5.2 meters along with pneumatic separation fittings and actuators. MLV specifications and rendering. (Credit: Firefly Aerospace) The MLV is also set to be offered with an optional third stage based on one Firefly Lightning-based engine. Lightning has been successfully used on the Firefly Alpha rocket, while work that had gone into the Firefly Beta concept will now be used with MLV. NG had offered three optional third stage choices for earlier Antares vehicles, but those vehicles never saw other customers besides NASA for anything more than small CubeSats. The MLV’s current listed payload capacity is up to 16,000 kilograms to a 200-kilometer circular low-Earth orbit inclined 38 degrees to the Equator. After the MLV was first announced, its capability to geosynchronous transfer orbit was listed as 2,750 kilograms, though any updated figures are not currently public.  Aerial view of Wallops Flight Facility. (Credit: NASA) MLV is currently set to fly from Wallops Island, and it remains to be seen whether it will be used for other launch sites. NG envisages MLV being offered for National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 missions, which do not require the use of all of the Space Force’s launch facilities. These missions also have less stringent requirements on the types of orbits the vehicle can reach. The MLV’s fairing meets NSSL Category B requirements.  The MLV is also planned to be offered for NASA Launch Services Program missions and Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) flights, which are higher-risk and lost-cost NASA satellite missions. Private satellite constellations, commercial space stations in low-Earth orbit, and US Department of Defense Rocket Systems Launch Program flights are listed as possible MLV clients as well. The MLV is joining an increasingly crowded field of competitors in the medium launch services space. Rocket Lab’s Neutron, which is partially reusable, is specified as having similar capabilities to the MLV – not to mention launching from just a half-kilometer away from Pad 0A – while the ULA Vulcan, Arianespace Ariane 6, India’s LVM3, and Japan’s H3 will also be competing for launch business. Meanwhile, the SpaceX Falcon 9 continues to demonstrate strong reliability, low cost, and high flight cadence for light, medium, and heavy payloads. (Lead image: Artist’s impression of the NG/Firefly MLV lifting off. Credit: Firefly Aerospace) The post Northrop Grumman and Firefly’s Antares 330 and MLV plans take shape appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

[cavenewstimes]

Antares launches Cygnus to ISS

SEATTLE — A Cygnus cargo spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station after an Aug. 1 launch as part of NASA’s commitment to “full throttle” use of the station through the end of the decade. An Antares 230+ rocket lifted off at 8:31 p.m. Eastern from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, placing a Cygnus spacecraft into orbit. The Cygnus, named “S.S.…

[netmassimo]

A few hours ago, Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft blasted off atop an Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), part of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) on Wallops Island. After about nine minutes it successfully separated from the rocket's last stage and went en route to its destination. This is the mission called NG-19 or CRS NG-19 to transport supplies to the International Space Station for NASA.

[hobbyspacer]

Videos: “Space to Ground” & other space habitat reports – July.12.2023

Here is the latest episode in NASA's Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station: https://youtu.be/ivRydohO5EU ** NRCSD26 Deployments - Nanoracks Nanoracks deploying 6 CubeSats from the International Space Station. https://www.youtube.com/live/wzv81nIvT8A?feature=share ** Boom! Lockheed Martin bursts inflatable space habitat in test - VideoFromSpace Lockheed Martin is developing inflatable habitats for use in space. Watch several views of a habitat prototype being inflated past its limit. https://youtu.be/oiSlorS_G5c ** Science on Northrop Grumman's CRS-19 Mission to the Space Station - NASA Northrop Grumman's 19th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station is carrying scientific investigations including a 3D neuron cell culture to test gene therapy, instruments to monitor plasma density, and an updated potable water dispenser system. The Cygnus spacecraft carrying these experiments to the orbiting laboratory is scheduled to lift off no earlier than August 1 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. Learn more about some of the science that's traveling to the space station on this mission: https://go.nasa.gov/43futh0 https://youtu.be/IgSR6tyEONU ** Expedition 69 Astronaut Steve Bowen Talks with WCVB-TV Boston  - NASA Video Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Steve Bowen of NASA discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight interview July 12 WCVB-TV Boston. Bowen is in the midst of a long-duration mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions. Such research benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future human exploration through the agency’s Artemis missions, which will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future expeditions to Mars. https://youtu.be/94vOzS0O39o ** NSS Space Forum - Commercial LEO Space Stations and the NASA Commercial LEO Destinations Program  - National Space Society Space Forum, January 12, 2023 Commercial LEO Space Stations and the NASA Commercial LEO Destinations Program Featuring the NSS Space Ambassadors NASA is supporting the development of commercial destinations in low-Earth orbit (LEO) to facilitate the creation of a cost-effective and robust commercial human spaceflight economy. Development and operation of commercial destinations in LEO is a key to achieving this goal. This special space forum, featuring the NSS Space Ambassadors, will provide a review of the NASA Commercial LEO Destinations Program and an overview of each of the four commercial partners: Axiom, Blue Origin, NanoRacks, and Northrop Grumman. The detailed program includes the following topics: • NASA Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) Program by Jim Plaxco • Axiom Space Station by Ken Ruffin • Blue Origin Station by Vanessa Farsadaki • NanoRacks Station by Mark Armstrong • Northrop Grumman Station by Prathmesh Barapatre • Question and Answer Session Enjoy this comprehensive review of the next phase in opening space for development and settlement. https://youtu.be/jTZgHB3ZYWI ** Live Video from the International Space Station (Official NASA Stream) - NASA Watch live video from the International Space Station, including inside views when the crew aboard the space station is on duty. Views of Earth are also streamed from an external camera located outside of the space station. During periods of signal loss due to handover between communications satellites, a blue screen is displayed. The space station orbits Earth about 250 miles (425 kilometers) above the surface. An international partnership of five space agencies from 15 countries operates the station, and it has been continuously occupied since November 2000. It's a microgravity laboratory where science, research, and human innovation make way for new technologies and research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. More: https://go.nasa.gov/3CkVtC8 Did you know you can spot the station without a telescope? It looks like a fast-moving star, but you have to know when to look up. Sign up for text messages or email alerts to let you know when (and where) to spot the station and wave to the crew: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov https://www.youtube.com/live/xAieE-QtOeM?feature=share ====

ISS after undocking of STS-132 === Amazon Ads === Lego Ideas International Space Station 21321 Toy Blocks, Present, Space, Boys, Girls, Ages 16 and Up ==== Outpost in Orbit: A Pictorial & Verbal History of the Space Station  Read the full article

[chincoteagueaccommodations]

The Best Chincoteague Island Hotel, Snug Harbor Marina

Simply Beautiful by Nature:

Despite being close to everything, Snug Harbor Marina on Chincoteague Island, Virginia, provides you with a feeling of seclusion. We invite you to explore island elegance, where there is as much or as little to do as your heart desires. It is clean, comfortable, and convenient.

Paradise Found on Chincoteague Island hotels

One of the best hotels on Chincoteague Island that has been open the longest is Snug Harbor Marina. The resort is the only hotel with a view of Assateague Island and the wild Chincoteague ponies, and it offers waterfront accommodations, motor boat rentals, kayak rentals, and boat tours throughout the islands.

Local Attractions

Chincoteague For their unique, salty flavor, oysters are shipped across the world. They are taken to a whole new level when served fresh. They are best enjoyed on the half-shell or single-fried in our restaurants here on the island.

If you are the adventurous type, you may want to join in a hands-on, educational, and wet-feet seafood experience by harvesting your own clams and oysters with Snag Harbor Marina, and Chincoteague Island hotels.

Over 300 different species of birds have been spotted at the Refuge, which is well-known as a birdwatcher's paradise. You can enjoy stays at Chincoteague Island hotels in every season of the year, whether you choose to hike or bike the island's miles of trails, sunbathe and bodysurf at the beach, picture a once-in-a-lifetime bird, climb the lighthouse or witness a rocket launch from the neighboring Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.

Activities You Can Entertain Yourself With:

Other outdoor activities in Chincoteague Island hotels include some fantastically beautiful parks, public piers for fishing and boating, nature walks, a farmer's market, mini-golf, go-karts, tennis, basketball, and pickleball courts, pavilions, playgrounds, and even an annual 10k run.

Additionally, Chincoteague Island hotels are not simply for outdoor activities. Spring, summer, and fall are the busiest seasons for shopping. Our area has a vibrant art and music culture, and we host events like shows, movies, festivals, and workshops.

To book the best Chincoteague Island hotel, visit http://chincoteagueaccommodations.com/

[rodspurethoughts]

NASA Updates Coverage of JPSS-2 Weather Satellite, LOFTID Tech Demo

NASA Updates Coverage of JPSS-2 Weather Satellite, LOFTID Tech Demo

A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, with the company’s Cygnus spacecraft aboard, launched at 5:32 a.m. EST, Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, from the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Northrop Grumman’s 18th contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station will deliver more than 8,000 pounds of science and research, crew…

[spaceflight-insider]

Penultimate Antares 230+ rocket lofts Cygnus spacecraft to ISS

Penultimate Antares 230+ rocket lofts Cygnus spacecraft to ISS

Antares launches with the NG-18 Cygnus cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station. Credit: Mark Usciak / Spaceflight Insider Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket disrupted a normally peaceful morning as it lifted off over the Atlantic from the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia, with the Cygnus NG-18 cargo mission to the International Space Station. (more…)

[robpegoraro]

Weekly output: lunar construction, Verizon 5G goals, Twitter trust-and-safety warning, 1Password upgrade, Comcast rate hikes, Google Messages encryption

Weekly output: lunar construction, Verizon 5G goals, Twitter trust-and-safety warning, 1Password upgrade, Comcast rate hikes, Google Messages encryption

My week has an unusual road trip coming up–to Wallops Island, Va., where Rocket Lab plans to conduct the first U.S. launch of its Electron rocket Friday evening. This is a much smaller vehicle than the others I’ve been privileged to see lift off, but driving to the Eastern Shore’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport is also a lot simpler than traveling to the Kennedy Space Center. In addition to the…

[tragic-media]

NASA’s New Science Research To Space Station Could Make Human Life Easier

American space agency NASA is planning to launch the next resupply services mission to the International Space Station (ISS) next month. The Cygnus spacecraft carrying scientific investigations of topics such as plant mutations and mudflow structure is scheduled for liftoff no earlier than November 6 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia, US.

On Saturday, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration released the details of some of the scientific investigations travelling to the space station on this mission. As per a press release, these investigations will include bioprinting tissues, assessing how plants adapt to space, mudflow mixtures and ovarian cell development in microgravity. It will also comprise the demonstration of camera technology and small satellites from Japan, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Explaining the bioprinting tissues, the US space agency said that it will launch its BioFabrication Facility (BFF) that successfully printed a partial human knee meniscus and a large volume of human heart cells during its trip to space in 2019. The technology is being re-flown to space with new capabilities to further human tissue printing research. The payload is returning to space to test whether microgravity enables the printing of tissue samples of higher quality than those printed on the ground.

“The research being conducted with BFF has exciting implications for the future of human health,” said Redwire executive vice president of In-Space Manufacturing and Operations John Vellinger.

“Besides providing a clear benefit to our lives on Earth, advancing this technology on the International Space Station now is a great way to prepare for work on the commercial space stations of the future, which could be outfitted with critical research technology such as BFF,” he added.

NASA will also conduct a study on growing plants in space. As per the press release, the Plant Habitat-03 will assess whether adaptations in one generation of plants grown in space can transfer to the next generation. NASA explained that the long-term goal of this investigation is to understand how epigenetics can contribute to adaptive strategies plants use in space, and ultimately, to develop plants better suited for use on future missions to provide food and other services.

Further, the space agency will also investigate mudflow mixtures. Scientists will be shedding light on climate change and global warming through the Post-Wildfire Mudflow Micro-Structure, which aims to study the thin layer of soil which is created after a wildfire burns a plant and repels rainwater.

“Gravity plays a crucial role in the process by driving air up and out of the mixture and particles down to the bottom of the water. Removing gravity, therefore, could provide insights into the internal structure dynamics of these sand-water-air mixtures and a baseline for their behaviour,” said Ingrid Tomac, an assistant professor in the University of California San Diego’s Structural Engineering Department.

Further, scientists in space will also be examining the effect of microgravity on bovine cell cultures — research that NASA believes could improve fertility treatments on Earth and help prepare for future human settlement in space.

[spacenutspod]

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 09, 2023 Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has signed a new launch services agreement with a confidential customer for a HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) mission from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in 2024. The contract signing with a new customer came just days after Rocket Lab successfully launched the

[rjbailey]

Northrop Grumman Antares CRS-13 Launch (NHQ202002150019) by NASA HQ PHOTO Via Flickr: The Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, with Cygnus resupply spacecraft onboard, launches from Pad-0A, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Northrop Grumman's 13th contracted cargo resupply mission for NASA to the International Space Station will deliver more than 7,500 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

[netmassimo]

Poche ore fa la navicella spaziale Cygnus di Northrop Grumman è decollata su un razzo vettore Antares dal Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), parte della Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) della NASA sull'isola Wallops. Dopo circa nove minuti si è separata con successo dall'ultimo stadio del razzo e si è immessa sulla sua rotta. È alla sua missione ufficiale chiamata NG-19 oppure CRS NG-19 di trasporto di rifornimenti alla Stazione Spaziale Internazionale per conto della NASA.