Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Launch Pad 0

LP-0A (located at 37.833959°N 75.4878331°W / 37.833959; -75.4878331 (Wallops Island Launch Pad 0-A)) was first built for the failed Conestoga rocket program.[4] The original launch tower was subsequently demolished in September 2008.[5] A new pad facility was built from 2009-2011 for Orbital Sciences Taurus II, now renamed Antares.[6] Pad modifications for Antares included the construction of a Horizontal Integration Facility for launcher/payload mating and a wheeled transporter/erector that will roll out and erect the rocket on its launch pad about 24 hours prior to launch.[6] The first launch of Antares occurred on April 21, 2013.[7]

The pad was reinforced with pilings and features a liquid fueling facility, flame trench, and deluge system for cooling and sound suppression. The pad is capable of supporting a gross liftoff weight of 453.6 metric tons (1,000,000 lb) and can launch payloads of up to 5,035 kilograms (11,100 lb) into low Earth orbit.[8]

On October 28, 2014, an Orbital Systems Antares rocket, flying as mission Cygnus CRS Orb-3, crashed 6 seconds after takeoff and appeared to have done significant damage to the launch pad itself. On October 29, 2014, teams of investigators began examining debris at the crash site.[9] By May 2015, estimates had been revised down to around US$13 million. At that time, NASA had committed US$5 million, Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority committed US$3 million and Orbital ATK US$3 million. Repairs were underway and planned to be completed by September 2015, but repairs were only funded up to August with Virginia CSFA requesting that Orbital provide the remaining US$2 million. On September 30, 2015, the spaceport announced repairs on pad 0A had been completed.[10] The launch pad resumed flight operations with the Cygnus CRS OA-5 mission on October 17, 2016.[11]

In March 2021, Rocket Lab announced that they would launch their upcoming medium-lift launch vehicle Neutron from LP-0A,[12] with the initial launch planned for as early as 2024.[13] However, Rocket Lab later opted to construct their own Neutron launch site south of Pad 0B.

Antares will continue flights from Pad 0A indefinitely, as Northrop Grumman transitions from the 200-series to the 300-series of the rocket. Said transition will require moderate renovations to the pad and surrounding facilities in order to support the upgrade rocket's larger first stage.[14]

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  Conestoga-1620 on pad, 1995
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  Antares 110 on pad (Antares A-One), 2013
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  Antares 120 on pad (CRS Orb-1), 2014
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  Antares 130 on pad (CRS Orb-3), 2014
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  The Pad 0A facilities the day after the October 28, 2014 launch failure.
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  Antares 230 on pad (CRS OA-8E), 2017
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  Antares 230+ on pad (Cygnus NG-12), 2019
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  Pad 0A, used by Antares, is second from the near end, next to the tall water tower.

LP-0B (located at 37.8311576°N 75.4913829°W / 37.8311576; -75.4913829 (Wallops Island Launch Pad 0-B)) became operational in 1999,[24] and was subsequently upgraded in 2003 with the construction of a mobile service tower, which was completed in 2004.[25] It is active, and is currently used by Northrop Grumman Minotaur rockets. The first launch from LP-0B was of a Minotaur I in December 2006,[26] and was the first launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.

Pad 0B hosted the Minotaur V launch of the LADEE lunar orbiter in 2013, becoming the first (and so far only) beyond-Earth mission to launch from Wallops.

On October 19, 2017, Vector Launch announced plans to conduct three launches from near Pad 0B with its then-in-development Vector-R small satellite launch vehicle over the subsequent two years, with an option for five additional launches.[27] However, following the company's bankruptcy and restructuring, plans for these launches are unlikely.

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  ALV X-1, 2008
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  Minotaur I launch (TacSat-3), 2009
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  Minotaur I on pad (ORS-1), 2011
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  Gantry at Pad 0B on Sept. 4, 2013.
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  Minotaur V on pad (LADEE), 2013
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  Minotaur I launch (STPSat 3), 2013

In October 2018, Rocket Lab announced that it had selected Mid-Atlantic as its second launch site (the launch site in Mahia had at the time 2 pads, so this was Rocket Lab's third launch pad) called Rocket Lab Launch Complex-2 (LC-2) or Launch Pad 0C (located at 37.833266°N 75.4882304°W / 37.833266; -75.4882304 (Wallops Island Launch Complex-2)). The new launch pad is near Pad 0A (and shares some systems with Pad 0A).[31][32][33][34] Rockets launched from LC-2 are integrated at Rocket Lab's integration facility, located just a few miles away from the pad. They are transported to the pad and integrated onto the strongback.[35]

In December 2019, construction was completed and Rocket Lab inaugurated Launch Complex 2 at Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.[31] In April 2020, Rocket Lab performed a Wet Dress Rehearsal with an Electron rocket on the pad.[33]

The first launch from LC-2 successfully occurred on January 24, 2023. An Electron rocket carried three satellites to orbit in a mission named "Virginia is for Launch Lovers".[36][1][37]