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Rocket Lab launches first mission from U.S. soil
After more than a month’s delay, Rocket Lab USA’s first launch from U.S. soil at NASA‘s Wallops Flight Facility in Accomack County blasted off Tuesday evening. The mission, “Virginia is for Launch Lovers,” lifted off around 6 p.m. EST from the company’s Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space‘s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within the NASA facility, […[...]
NASA, Boeing finalize $3.2B Artemis rocket contract
Arlington-based Boeing Corp. will continue manufacturing the core and upper stages of the Space Launch System rockets for NASA‘s Artemis missions that are expected to take astronauts to the moon and beyond in coming years. NASA announced Friday that it finalized its $3.2 billion contract with Boeing, just two days before its Orion spacecraft splashed […]
BWXT begins production of fuel for 1st U.S. microreactor
Lynchburg-based BWX Technologies Inc. has begun producing the nuclear fuel that will power the first microreactor built and operated in the United States, the company announced Wednesday. BWXT will manufacture a nuclear core for Project Pele under a $37 million award from the Idaho National Laboratory, as well as tristructural isotropic particle fuel, known as […]
Rocket Lab announces December Va. launch window
Rocket Lab USA Inc. will launch the first U.S. mission for its Electron rocket from a launch pad on NASA‘s Wallops Flight Facility in Accomack County during a 13-day window that opens Dec. 7. The company announced the Wallops launch Thursday. The mission, called “Virginia is for Launch Lovers,” will deploy satellites for Herndon-based HawkEye […]
New NASA tunnel could boost Va. space industry
As NASA pushes the reaches of space exploration, a new wind tunnel at the agency’s Hampton-based Langley Research Center will serve an important role in journeys beyond Mars and could also boost Virginia’s space industry. In August, NASA broke ground on its new 25,000-square-foot Flight Dynamics Research Facility (FDRF), which will house the 130-foot-tall vertical […]
Artemis I to launch with help from Va. contractors
EDITOR’S NOTE: Monday’s launch was scrubbed by NASA shortly after 8:33 a.m. because of an engine issue. Weather permitting, if the Artemis 1 moon mission launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Monday morning as planned, it will be powered in part by the work of Virginia-based contractors. The uncrewed flight test is the […]
Rocket Lab to boost Eastern Shore space biz
The Eastern Shore and Accomack County are well-acquainted with the rockets’ red glare. One of the oldest launch sites in the world, the NASA Wallops Flight Facility launched its first rocket on July 4, 1945. Given its history, it seems fitting that Wallops’ rocket business got a big payload boost in late February when California-based […]
NASA vet named president of Leidos’ Dynetics
Huntsville, Alabama-based Dynetics Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Reston-based Fortune 500 government contractor Leidos Holdings Inc., has named Steve Cook as its new Dynetics Group president and Paul Engola as deputy president, effective April 1, the company announced Tuesday. Current Dynetics President Dave King will stay on in a consulting capacity and ensure a […]
NASA orders more space missions from Northrop Grumman
NASA has ordered 12 more resupply missions to the International Space Station, six of which have been placed with Falls Church-based Northrop Grumman, the space agency announced March 25. Another six missions are from Elon Musk’s California-based SpaceX. According to NASA‘s announcement, the missions, part of its Commercial Resupply Services-2 contracts, are to ensure continuous [&hell[...]
Rocket Lab USA picks Va. for rocket launch site and manufacturing facility
Rocket Lab USA Inc. has selected Wallops Island as the location for its launch site and a new manufacturing and assembly complex for its new Neutron rocket, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday. The move is expected to create as many as 250 jobs. Rocket Lab will launch Neutron from a new launch pad owned by […]
Calif. aerospace company proposes Accomack County facility
Accomack County is a finalist for a proposed Rocket Lab USA Inc. facility, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. If the county is selected, Long Beach, California-based aerospace company Rocket Lab would develop a facility to support part production, assembly, integration and test operations to support the launch of its Neutron launch vehicle from the NASA […]
Leidos nabs $270M NASA contract
Reston-based Leidos Holdings Inc., a Fortune 500 government contractor, won a $270 million contract with NASA, according to the space agency. Leidos will provide program, science, engineering, operations and project management support at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. Work under the contract will include biosciences flight development projects, collaborativ[...]
