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Post by Logan on Jun 25, 2016 23:57:36 GMT -6
Virginia looks at new opportunities to grow spaceport at WallopsWALLOPS ISLAND — With space station resupply launches expected to resume in August and a runway under construction for testing drone flights, Virginia is looking at another opportunity to lure a major federal research program to the state’s expanding spaceport complex on this barrier island on the Eastern Shore. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is expected to ask soon for information about where to base a new “science and technology testing ground” for unmanned vehicle systems — operating in the air and underwater — and boosters say the regional spaceport would be an ideal fit. “What better place to do it than here?” said Peter J. Bale, chairman of the Wallops Island Regional Alliance, as members of the House Appropriations Committee visited last week. The federal agency has not yet issued a request for information for an unmanned vehicle testing ground, but officials for the alliance and the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority already are trying to ensure that Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard have a long-term home at the 3,000-foot state runway for testing “unmanned vehicle systems” that is expected to be finished in December. Read more: www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/general-assembly/article_24351021-ee16-5e65-8df0-aff600fae3ef.html
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