thank you
we gather here today not only to
recognize the accomplishments in
establishing this facility but also to
recognize the future
Wallace the completion of this facility
is the first step in the new era of
space exploration of what we envision
walls not only being a watch site
preparing supplies to the International
Space Station but expanding a support
replacing satellites and Earth orbit and
Beyond
so Bob Richards who is a senior
vice-president adorable sciences and
other advanced projects group called me
in early January 2007 and said we are
interested in the possibility of getting
into the medium classy lb business and
wanted to know whether wallet was
interested in being considered as our
launch site of course the answer that
question was what yes and so they drove
down a couple days later he and a couple
of other members of the orbital team and
at that point though we were looking and
considering something that was quite a
bit different than what we've turned
into but we were looking at the
possibility of flying from the
spaceports pads 0b launch complex so on
a cold rainy day with a very high winds
in the middle of january we climbed up
at zero began tree and looked at the
possibilities of that serving as a
launch pad for of what's become the
Antares rocket and that was kind of the
first meeting first discussions and we
kind of quietly talked about this
we really didn't only had a few people
here awhile so even aware that we were
thinking about that and kind of lived
that way for about the first seven
months of the of the process through
early 2007 late July early August the
2007 orbital kind of said we're ready to
take this to the next level we're ready
to give you some some money to go study
some things for something that always
gets our attention of course when people
are willing to fund us to do think we
know they're serious
so we put together a little study team
that included folks from the range the
spaceport safety
environmental and facilities to look at
what might be the potential real issues
for conducting the Antares launches out
here and this was all really before the
space station resupply was even under
consideration so we talk about three
months put together a team that did a
really nice job of putting together what
the issues would be how much money would
take to fix things we need to fix your
wallets to make make network study to
make Antares really work your wallet and
provided that the orbital we're gonna
right before Christmas and in 2007 and
and then provided that adorable and they
were very impressed with a report they
were very complimentary of it and I
remember lying at home in early january
2008 with the flu and i got a phone call
from from bob richards that article
saying they are Thompson of advice
executive vice president once the let's
talk to you about this I said I was
hoarse and could hardly talk but I was
lying lying in bed there with without in
my notes and he calls and so I can't
believe any of this stuff is true is
this really true and
answer all the stuff that I could about
it because we need to come and see
so he and a team of verbal attacks all
hopped in the car about three days later
showed up Wallace and we brought all the
folks and to talk about all the real
questions I had about whether we can
really do this project you know whether
we had all the questions answered about
safety whether there are any
showstoppers and convince them that that
we really could do the things we said we
were going to do in that report so that
report was really the first major
accomplishment that convinced orbital
that we were the place to do this while
we were conducting this study for
orbital when they really were focused on
mostly science missions and other things
it so happened that the cops program
that is a space station resupply
demonstration program i reopened the
competition and orbital decided to go
after that work and during that process
they had while they were still talking
to us they had baseline in their
proposal the Florida launch site as as
where they would probably launched from
but during that process we were
conducting our study of this study
really convince them that we were
probably prefer choice so they had
already submitted their proposals to
NASA for the for the cops program but
they went in for their final
presentation they called me just before
they went and did that said hey we're
going to change our proposal to say
wallets instead of florida are you guys
okay with that
I said sure go ahead and so at that
point they went they went in and
proposed us as their launch site and you
know a month or so later actually
respected by NASA for the cops program
and in the press release when weber was
announced as the winner of the cuts the
competition they said we're going to
launch our launch site will be Wallace
so that was really the first time
anybody outside of us an orbital head
anywhere notice that they were
considering us and that became kind of
big news that that turned into kind of a
bit of a discussion in the press about
you know launch sites and and that that
took us to kind of the next steps which
is when the space board and states the
state of Virginia jumped into to start
talking about money with with orbital
sciences once the announcement for the
cots program was over that really had
changed orbitals plans were and Terry
that originally had been thought they
might launch one or maybe two missions
ear per year if they launched that here
and it was bit more of a campaign sort
of thing now with the cops and Space
Station resupply programs they really
needed a bigger kind of configuration
here so it became almost the closet
permanent proposal to launch and conduct
our operations out of Olives that really
changed the scope of what we were
thinking about and new facilities a lot
of things like that and that's really
about the time that the spaceport really
stepped in and then the commonwealth of
virginia stepped in to to take over kind
of the leadership role and in doing all
of this and so because that required a
lot of money and no orbital the
spaceport began talking and and and the
governor's office in Virginia and that's
really became with kind of the next step
because even though they had previously
decided Wallace was their launch site
there were there were discussions about
reconsidering that and still going back
to Florida depending on what the
economic packages of the various states
would would be so you know that was
really cool goes to the to the state of
Virginia for for putting together a
story that reaffirmed the decision that
could come to Wallops and and i still
remember a 1-1 friday morning on my day
off I was sitting at home
hadn't even gotten dressed for the day
yet and biliary the executive director
director and spaceport is getting ready
to go into a meeting with the governor
and wanted to confirm some facts and so
he called me on my cellphone not realize
that wasn't at work i was still in my
boxer shorts and there's still picture
somewhere out to out there with the need
my wife took me on my cell phone trying
to get better cell phone coverage in my
front yard standing outside trying to
the answer questions for Billy as he got
ready to go in to talk to the governor
ultimately all those discussions when
well the commonwealth of virginia
stepped up and and provided funding
necessary to convince orbital to bring
the project develops and and rest is
history so see
five-four-three-two-one
with the Antares a one definition from
the Mars had 0a at the walls white sony
power is nominal edges and underneath
percent a nominal 30 seconds 18
engines 104
without me
altitude and values
altitude 20,000 feet for the 900 feet
per second
ninety seconds power is nominal
altitude
15 on it for something
and it's the wonder-percent altitude
250,000 seat
we have state long separation
separation separation
he cam is initiated attitude nominal and
terry has delivered the a1 Testament and
payload into orbit we envision walls not
only being a launch site for carrying
supplies to the International Space
Station but expanding its support for
placing satellites in Earth orbit and
Beyond there may even be a day in the
future will be space to our spot sure
I can't hear about the only person
it doesn't have TV coverage of the
things and kind man got the black up now
you're gonna be getting a TV picture i
f-feel yes we are getting a TV picture
trilogy
one all
what