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Teams investigate failure of unmanned rocket off Virginia coast

Oct 29 2014

Launch Pads

Pad 0A

LP-0A (located at 37°50′02″N 75°29′16″W / 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.⁷ The original launch tower was subsequently demolished in September 2008. A new pad facility was built from 2009 to 2011 for Orbital Sciences Taurus II, now renamed Antares. 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. The first launch of Antares occurred on April 21, 2013.

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 between Pad 0B and Pad 0C.

In August 2022, Northrop Grumman announced that they plan to transition from the 200-series to the 300-series of Antares, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February ended the production of the Russian-designed and Ukrainian-built RD-181 used as the first stage engine. As a result, LP-0A and surrounding facilities would require moderate renovations in order to support the upgraded rocket's larger first stage to be produced by Firefly Aerospace.¹⁴ As part of the renovation, Firefly also announced that the facility will become an East Coast launch site of their own Firefly Alpha lifter upon the pad's completion, helping support existing operations from SLC-2W at Vandenberg Space Force Base and future operations at SLC-20 at Cape Canaveral.¹⁵ In addition, Firefly and Northrop Grumman plans for LP-0A to support the launching and landing of their Antares successor currently in development, theMedium Launch Vehicle.

Gallery

Pad-0B

LP-0B (located at 37°49′52″N 75°29′29″W / 37.8311576°N 75.4913829°W / 37.8311576; -75.4913829 (Wallops Island Launch Pad 0-B)) became operational in 1999,¹⁶ and was subsequently upgraded in 2003 with the construction of a mobile service tower, which was completed in 2004.¹⁷ 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 2006,¹⁸ 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.¹⁹ However, following the company's bankruptcy and restructuring, plans for these launches are unlikely.

Gallery

Launch Complex 2 (Pad 0C)

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°50′00″N 75°29′18″W / 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).^20212223 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.²⁴

In December 2019, construction was completed and Rocket Lab inaugurated Launch Complex 2 at Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.²⁵ In April 2020, Rocket Lab performed a Wet Dress Rehearsal with an Electron rocket on the pad.²⁶

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".²⁷²⁸²⁹

Launch Complex 3 (Pad 0D)

In October 2023, Rocket Lab began construction on a new pad at MARS located between LP-0B and LC-2. Christened as Rocket Lab Launch Complex 3 (LC-3) or Launch Pad 0D, the site is intended to support the launching and landing operations of Rocket Lab's upcoming Neutron launch vehicle.³⁰

Launch statistics

LP-0A

•   Conestoga
•   Antares 100-series
•   Antares 200-series
•   Antares 300-series
•   Firefly Alpha
•   MLV

LP-0B

•   ALV X-1
•   Minotaur I
•   Minotaur IV
•   Minotaur V

LC-2 (LP-0C)

•   Electron
•   Electron (HASTE)

• Spaceflight portal

References

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