Jane Edwards
Tucson, Arizona-based nanosatellite launch firm Vector will perform three orbital launches from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island in Virginia over the next two years under an agreement with the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority.
The deal with Virginia Space includes an option for Vector to conduct five additional orbital launches at MARS, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s office said Thursday.
The company also demonstrated at the MARS launch site its Vector-R launch vehicle and the system’s capability to perform simulated propellant loading and ground operations with a transporter-erector launcher platform.
Jim Cantrell, Vector co-founder and CEO, said the agreement and the demonstration reflect the start of Vector’s partnership with Virginia Space and would help the firm secure an orbital capability in 2018.
Company and state officials who attended the demonstration include McAuliffe; John Garvey, chief technology officer at Vector; Aubrey Layne, Virginia secretary of transportation; Bill Wrobel, director of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility; and Dale Nash, Virginia Space executive director.
