A rocket soars into space from the Wallops Flight Facility, just west of Chincoteague, Virginia. NASA launches numerous rockets from Wallops each year.

What A Wallop!

Virginia Flight Facility Offers Excitement, Fun For Family

Look! Up in the air. ItÕs a bird. ItÕs a plane. ItÕs a rocket launch from the NASA Center at Wallops Island, Virginia.

WeÕre all familiar with space launches from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, but Virginia? Who would have thought?

The Wallops Flight Facility is located just a few miles west of Chincoteague, Virginia, on the Atlantic shore. ItÕs NASAÕs premier site for suborbital and small orbital flight projects, Earth science research, technology development, and home to NASAÕs only owned and operated launch range. Established in 1945, Wallops is one of the oldest launch sites in the world.

Each year, NASA launches numerous rockets from Wallops and each event draws a group of interested and enthusiastic spectators. A launch schedule is available on the Wallops website at www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops or by calling 757-824-2050. The best site for viewing rocket launches and aircraft activities at Wallops is from the observation deck at the Visitor Center.

The Center is located on Rt. 175 near the west end of the causeway to Chincoteague, Virginia. ItÕs adjacent to the marsh where spectators can get a clear view of Wallops Island, the location of the rocket launch facilities. From this site, visitors can keep apprised of the launch schedule and countdown.

Television monitors in the Center also give visitors a look at activities on the launch pad. Some rocket launches can be difficult to view live due to the small size of some sounding rockets.

Travel plans should not be based solely on launch schedules. Times and dates can change due to weather and other factors.

Rocket launches can be viewed best from Visitor Center or from south-facing locations on nearby Chincoteague and Assateague Islands. With more than 50 years experience conducting suborbital projects, Wallops staff members are experts. They are highly skilled in engineering, radar, project management, mobile campaigns and so much more. Its staff includes scientists, photographers, pilots, project managers and technicians.

Whether operating its onsite instrumentation or traveling the world with unique mobile facilities, it supports researchers wherever the science takes them.

Wallops supports NASAÕs sounding rocket and high altitude balloon programs. It also tracks the Mir space station and NASAÕs space shuttle missions using its communications, telemetry and radar facilities. It also offers a wide array of launch vehicle trajectory options.

Wallops welcomes researchers from universities, business corporations, and government agencies. Two commercial launch pads provide support to commercial clients through the Virginia Space Flight Center at Wallops and the research airport (opposite from the Visitors Center) supports aircraft-launched rockets. Wallops expects an increase in commercial launch activity in the very near future.

The Wallops launch range includes six launch pads, three blockhouses for launch control and assembly buildings that support the preparation and launching of suborbital and orbital launch systems. It also has the capability to support launch operations worldwide with mobile range instrumentation and equipment.

The NASA Visitor Center provides an educational and fun experience for visitors of all ages.

Its museum exhibits and theater presentations take visitors on a journey through projects conducted at Wallops over the years right up to the present. Here you can learn about sounding rockets, scientific balloon projects, orbital tracking and more.

March 2008 marked the beginning of the annual model rocket season at Wallops Visitor Center. For nearly 25 years, the CenterÕs staff has been routinely launching an assortment of low power model rockets for public viewing.

The Center is open Thursday through Monday year-round from 10 AM to 4 p.m. Admission is free. For information call 757- 824-2298 or 757-824-1344.

There are numerous scientific projects underway at Wallops. NASAÕs airborne study of Arctic atmosphere, and air pollution is the most extensive field campaign ever to investigate the chemistry of the ArcticÕs lower atmosphere.

NASA Wallops and the National Science Foundation recently established a new record in conducting scientific observations from balloons, by launching and operating three long-duration flights within a single Antarctic summer. In addition, the NASA P-3 Orion aircraft with a compliment of scientists and support staff has spent several weeks in Greenland this year in an effort to observe the current state of the Greenland ice-sheet.

Meanwhile, working with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, NASA Wallops recently opened a new chapter in the world of hurricane observation by making the first unmanned flight into Hurricane Noel.

Teenagers who are interested in how and why rockets and spaceships fly, aerodynamics, astronaut training, micro gravity, robotics, rocket launching, extraterrestrial travel, and the role of radar and weather, will want to participate in the Space Flight Adventure Camp at Wallops.

For information call 757-824-3800 or toll free 866-757-7223 or email ed@vaspaceflightacademy.org

Visiting NASAÕs Wallops Island facility and witnessing a rocket launch is a great experience and one that families will certainly enjoy.

For accommodations in the area see www.chincoteaguechamber.com.