Unmanned Aerial & Space Systems & Launch Industry Feasibility Study July 2013
For the Tri County Council Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development
Prepared by:
LJT & Associates 9881 Broken Land Parkway, Suite 400
Columbia, Maryland 21046
Exceeding Expectations through Innovation and Quality
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1 Executive Summary ...... 5
2 Background ...... 9
3 Commercial Space Launch ...... 11 3.1 Provide Critical Context...... 11 3.2 Identify Competing Commercial Spaceflight Activity Locations ...... 18 3.3 Identify Wallops’ Competitive Advantages ...... 25 3.4 Identify Planned Launches ...... 33 3.5 Specific ELV-Related Growth Opportunities ...... 34
4 Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Industry ...... 54 4.1 Provide Critical Context...... 54 4.2 Identify Other UAV/UAS Competing Locations ...... 59 4.3 Prospective Test and Evaluation Clients and Opportunities ...... 65 4.4 Specific UAS Growth Opportunities ...... 66 4.5 Educational and Workforce Considerations ...... 67
5 Other Potential Activity not related to Launch or UAS...... 69 5.1 Sounding Rocket Activity ...... 69 5.2 Navy Activity ...... 70 5.3 MDA Test Launch Activity ...... 71 5.4 Commercial Aircraft Testing ...... 71
6 Appendix A: Select UAS Company Profiles ...... 73
7 Appendix B: Select ELV Industry Company Profiles ...... 75
8 Appendix C: References ...... 79
9 Appendix D: Acronyms and Abbreviations ...... 81
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1 Executive Summary National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) is a unique aerospace installation that has significantly impacted the local Eastern Shore economy since its inception in the 1940’s. In recent years the underutilization of range resources coupled with strategic business development at Wallops has enabled growth of NASA and commercial utilization of the facility. Two business areas that have been the center of this growth are Expendable Launch Vehicle (ELV) launches and Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) test and development. Historically, launches from Wallops were in support of Science research utilizing the Sounding Rocket Program. In partnership with Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), Wallops has established the launch capabilities to support Minotaur and Antares ELVs in support of the Department of Defense (DOD) and the commercial launch industry. The UAS industry continues to grow through new and innovative applications for both military and commercial industry. WFF is an ideal location for the test and development of new systems and their applications through their controlled airspace and underutilized airport facilities. ELV and UAS business at Wallops is forecasted to continue to grow under Wallops’ current leadership and their strategic plan. This feasibility study identifies strategic areas of potential investment that could help enhance the growth of ELV and UAS business at Wallops, enable sustainment of this business, and significantly impact the economy of the Lower Eastern Shore. Launch Range Services/Research Range: To sustain continued growth, investment in infrastructure is needed to accommodate processing of multiple payloads. This could involve NASA construction funding, commercial investments, or a combination of both. Lower Shore Tourism: ELV launches will bring increased interest from the highly populated cities in the Northeast. Instead of traveling to Florida, interested viewers will be capable of day trips and overnight trips to the area to view the launch. Wallops as well as the local tourism industry will need to establish marketing plans to capture this increasing interest and potential tourism revenue. Workforce: The workforce required to support these missions are in high demand in an area where the local universities and community colleges do not have programs to supply the required skills. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Facilities: To attract new UAS business, additional infrastructure investment is required. The current UAS runaway is restricted due to the new MARS Launch complex. The north end runway has been planned but not yet funded.
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This study also recognizes and discusses the several challenges facing a significant expansion of commercial launch/UAV at Wallops, such as: UAV Policies: Current federal and state policies being established are restrictive in nature for the development, testing and operation of UAS and could significantly impact growth of the UAS industry at Wallops (and elsewhere). Federal Discretionary Funding/NASA Budget Shortfalls: The federal government and NASA are living under the first of what could be many years of “sequester” budget cuts, mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011. Unless this and other issues are resolved, overall NASA funding could be constrained in coming year, limiting funds needed for expanded launch and other facilities at Wallops. Launch Vehicle and UAV Company Locations: Few are currently near Wallops, and given the remoteness of the WFF, it will be difficult to attract already established industry players that have operational manufacturing facilities elsewhere.
Table 1
Compliance Matrix and Table of Key Recommendations
# Category Recommendation Page Workforce Education in the fields of Radar, Telemetry, High Pressure Systems Operations, Safety, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering are areas to consider investing in and enhancing local educational 3 Education programs. These jobs are paying between $50k to $100k per year. Many of these 34 positions have been filled with candidates from outside of the Eastern Shore. Local universities and colleges are not producing viable candidates so in the future we will continue to look beyond the Eastern Shore. A growth opportunity exists to grow future Wallops-related aerospace industry by improving local student interest and awareness of NASA, Wallops, and the aerospace field by incorporating field trips and activities into the curriculum of 1st 14 Education through 12th graders. Teacher In-Service Days could be used to take large groups of 51 Tri-County teachers (STEM and non-STEM subjects) to Wallops to tour the facility, make contacts, and have a better understanding of space launch that could be worked into their curriculums. A growth opportunity exists to reintroduce an aerospace training program similar to the UAS Maintenance Program that was developed to retrain dislocated workers, 15 Education which was sponsored by the Lower Shore Workforce Alliance. As long as the 51 training program works closely with Wallops and related industry, the right number of staff could be trained and placed locally to meet growing demands. Team with Embry Riddle Aeronautical University to bring an appropriate level of 16 Education 52 aerospace training and education to the Eastern Shore to lure aerospace industry A stronger relationship can still be forged between Salisbury University and Wallops 17 Education 52 with regard to science and engineer programs as well as management programs.
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# Category Recommendation Page A strong growth potential exists by partnering local schools of higher education, particularly UMES or SU, with the University of North Dakota or Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). Both of these schools are recognized leaders in aviation, aerospace, and UAS fields, offering associates through doctorate degrees 23 Education 67 in the subjects. They are ideal to partner with since they have a very strong distance learning program, ERAU having remote campuses all over the world. Joint programs would bring the research and development to the region, as well as educating the local workforce. Wallops Island is running out of room… there is no more room for launch pads, runways, instrumentation, processing facilities… the range can sustain an increased 1 Infrastructure 31 ops tempo, there is just no room to do it. Growth potential for Wallops area is to establish off-site private processing facilities and launch complexes Under the law, the FAA can provide matching funds for specific projects being carried out by public entities involved in commercial space activities. With 5 Infrastructure 35 matching funding, MARS could take advantage of this grant program to improve their launch pads at WFF causing a surge in construction. Personnel support outside the Wallops gate is lacking. Restaurants, child care, coffee shops, and hotels are in high demand. Roughly 1600 personnel work at Wallops and on average there are 100 visiting workers. In addition, if the quantity 12 Infrastructure 48 and quality of personnel support services were increased in the urban areas of the Tri County area, it would create growth opportunities for relocating businesses to be near Wallops. A growth opportunity exists for business incubators by building specialized facilities designed for spaceport industries (hangers, processing facilities, cleanrooms, etc.) 13 Infrastructure or by building a business park offering temporary agency services, printing/copying 49 services, shipping services, IT services, meeting space, rental office space, and restaurants/shops. Congress passed into law a requirement for the FAA to implement UAS into the U.S. airspace. This legislation paves the way for commercial UAS activities to begin in 18 Law 53 the NAS by 2015. The key market segments are precision agriculture, law enforcement, first responders, and NOAA or NASA science applications. A growth opportunity exists if new launch providers came to Wallops. SpaceX is a company with a medium class ELV whose processing needs are similar to the 2 New Business 32 existing vehicles at Wallops. A growth opportunity may exist if SpaceX could be convinced to establish a launch site at Wallops. The planned Wallops Research Park could host Orbital Sciences’ Pegasus or Virgin 11 New Business 43 Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, both currently a missed opportunity. Wallops can team with Patuxent River NAS to support NAVY UAS operations. There is an opportunity for MD to assist with the relocation of the BAMSD program to WFF. The parties from the USN and NASA have met several times, and there is an 19 New Business 59 opportunity for the state to be involved in assisting with this. This would be a great national security asset at Wallops and deliver many economic drivers to the area, including driving the establishment of the Wallops Research Park. Wallops provides easy access to Special Use Airspace. This will allow for ease of 20 New Business operations of UAS in the Wallops restricted areas. A growth opportunity exists to 64 offer UAS organizations easy access to airspace from Wallops. Wallops can support Tier 1, 2, and 3 UAS operations. The facility has a proven capability to support up to class 4 (Global Hawk) operations. This is an incredible 21 New Business 65 growth opportunity as Wallops can support any type of new UAS business, from major DOD programs down to university level test programs.
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# Category Recommendation Page Logistics supply chains are close to Wallops for UAS manufacturing. If you look at 22 New Business 66 standard shipping times the area is an easy 1 day delivery area. Range Systems are unique with few providers in the market place. Many of these companies specialize in customized systems for NASA and the DOD to meet specific mission requirements. Many of these companies are located in the Silicon Valley, 4 New Business 34 Los Angeles and along the West Coast. Companies are also emerging in France to meet the European demand. See Table 11 for the list of companies that supply range instrumentation and systems. The Tri-County region may find a growth opportunity by opening more museums (such as an Air/Space Museum), or by attracting a theme park to the area (also 6 Tourism perhaps space-related). While the entertainment industry will not likely grow 39 based on Wallops growth, it is likely that an improved entertainment industry base will bring more business towards the Wallops region. Increasing Recreation and Eco-Tourism opportunities may help bring in more Wallops-focused business by enticing the staff that would relocate. The Tri-County 7 Tourism region may find a growth opportunity by enhancing the amenities of the NASA 40 Visitor Center, improving the launch observation viewing areas (or creating new ones). We strongly recommend that the Tri County Council interface with Delaware North 8 Tourism Companies Parks and Resorts to begin looking at developing a visitor center on par 41 with that at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. There is tremendous growth opportunity in the Tri-County region to take advantage 9 Tourism of the increasing space activities with a robust space-tourism industry. Government 41 and commercial entities should examine and invest in this opportunity. The space activities already taking place at Wallops may serve as an anchor for future orbital tourism, whether the flights depart from Wallops or the Salisbury 10 Tourism Airport. This type of tourism, sustained by contract flights with NASA will have 42 significant economic impact from the company and staff conducting the flights as well as the stimulus of funds from wealthy tourists.
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2 Background LJT’s team prepared this study to support the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) and the Tri County Council’s (TCC) objective of understanding what this business growth at Wallops means to the Lower Eastern Shore economy and how the TCC helps facilitate growth and increase the impact to the local economy. Our objective with this study is to make the potential commercial opportunities posed by Wallops more explicit in detail. Identifying how the Lower Eastern Shore can participate in housing, servicing or staffing the commercial activities that may flow from increased space flight, test and evaluation (T&E) activities and other related industry development. The scope of this study is inform the TCC about the ELV and UAS business at Wallops and aerospace industry, identify activities and concepts that the TCC can consider exploring and taking action to help facilitate the business growth at Wallops.
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Figure 1. Economic Growth Opportunities Map. Draws linkage between growth opportunities and new business. New business may present growth opportunities, and growth opportunities that are acted upon may bring new business.
3 Commercial Space Launch 3.1 Provide Critical Context This section describes commercial space launch facilities in an effort to help understand the industry, facilities, workforce, and infrastructure necessary to support launch activities. This section also identifies the potential space missions supported by commercial launch. Modern-day Commercial Space Launch activity can trace its roots back to the early days of long- range missile testing in the 1940’s. As the United States (U.S.), Soviet Union, Germany, and other countries began exploring the development of long range missiles, it became apparent to the agencies conducting the tests that they needed large dedicated areas in order to conduct their testing safely. In 1949, President Eisenhower signed Public Law 60, an act “to authorize the establishment of a long-range proving ground for guided missiles, and for other purposes.” The first proving ground in the U.S. was established in 1950 as what is now known as the Eastern Range (ER), operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) from Patrick Air Force Base (AFB) and the east coast of Florida. Several years later another proving ground was established on the west coast at what is now known as the Western Range (WR), operated by the USAF from Vandenberg AFB, California. These two proving grounds were selected based on their remote locations, on their generally temperate climate, and on their coastal positioning allowing test flights over unpopulated areas. Other countries around the world used similar criteria for selecting sites, though they are not all coastal. In order to support the testing of long range ballistic missiles, intermediate range ballistic missiles (IRBM), and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), the ranges deployed ground- based sensors around the launch head and down range along the trajectory (on islands, since the missiles were launched over the ocean). These sensors were used to track the missiles and collect data from on-board instruments to analyze the performance of the missiles. Many of the radars, telemetry antennas, and optical trackers deployed in the 1950’s and 1960’s are still in service today. As the space age matured, the missiles began morphing into orbital launch vehicles carrying satellites into orbit. The Titan ICBM became the Titan II Launch Vehicle and later grew into the heavy lift Titan IV. The Atlas ICBM became the Atlas-Centaur Launch Vehicle, later the Atlas IIIAS, and finally completely redesigned and reborn as the Atlas V ELV. The Thor IRBM became the Delta Launch Vehicle, transitioning into the Delta II, a workhorse of the U.S. space program, and similarly being redesigned and reborn as the Delta IV ELV. Early versions of the Atlas and Titan carried astronauts, then the Saturn V was developed to carry astronauts to the moon and the Space Shuttle was developed to transport astronauts into low-earth orbit. The launch ranges have served the same purpose throughout the years, watching the vehicles mature, but changing very little themselves. They continue to provide the infrastructure for processing, integrating, and preparing the rockets for flight, and for ensuring safe launch conditions and tracking the rockets into orbit. The ranges continue to support missile testing, but launching satellites is the primary mission of most launch ranges. Over the past 50 years, the majority of all spacecraft launched worldwide have been government-owned. In the U.S., the satellites belonged to the military, NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), or other government organizations. It did not take long for commercial organizations to realize the value of “the high ground.” First communications companies took advantage of
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Geosynchronous orbit (GSO), where the satellite stays in synch with the rotation of the earth, keeping it constrained to a particular area of the sky, as viewed from the ground (geostationary is a type of GSO that is directly over the equator, keeping it “locked” in the same exact place in the sky). This enables ground stations of any size all over the world to point an antenna to a particular point in the sky and receive non-stop communications. The commercial space age was born and the only safe place to launch these commercial payloads was from a government-operated launch range. Launch ranges all have the same basic features, commonly broken into two general classifications: port facilities and the launch range. 3.1.1 Port Facilities Launch Complex The most recognizable facility on any spaceport is the Launch Complex. This is the area including and immediately surrounding the launch pad. The launch pad structure is a reinforced platform where the rocket sits, standing vertically, before launching. The launch pad is most recognizable due to the tall structures next to it, including the Mobile Service Tower (MST), also known as gantry, and Fixed Umbilical Tower (FUT). The FUT stands next to the rocket and provides a “lifeline” to the rocket and its payload before it launches. The lifeline is an umbilical or group of umbilicals that provides rocket/satellite health data to ground controllers and commands in the other direction, environmentally controlled air to keep sensitive components safe, and propellant and other gas commodities to the rocket. The MST is a large structure that usually hides the rocket from view while it is built up and prepared for launch. Not all pads have an MST. This structure has floors that fit around the rocket to enable technicians to work on various levels of the rocket, and the whole structure can be rolled out of the way prior to launch. Propellant tanks are situated around the pad, providing a short distance to flow the special rocket propellants, and a water tower stands nearby to provide a water deluge for the launch. The deluge serves as a sound barrier, keeping the sound waves from bouncing off the pad and up against the rocket, potentially destroying it. The deluge also provides some evaporative cooling to the pad. Underneath the launch pad are flame ducts, which serve to guide the exhaust away from the rocket. The deluge water is usually heavily contaminated by the exhaust bi-products so it is collected and filtered. Vehicle Processing Facility The next most recognizable facilities on a space port are the vehicle processing facilities, due to their enormity required for holding an entire rocket, either horizontal or vertically. Horizontal facilities take up more area, but allow for easier processing, rolling the body sections on special trailers. Vertical facilities take up less area, but require larger doors and the vehicles must be processed by lifting stages atop one another with a crane. Transporting vertical rockets is also more challenging than rolling them horizontally. Horizontal facilities must have very level floors so the stages can be properly mated, but only need nominally sized doors, whereas vertical facilities have loose floor requirements but the doors are extremely tall. Spacecraft (Payload) Processing Facility Spacecraft processing facilities are more diminutive than vehicle processing facilities, but just as important. These buildings are used to process the satellite to be ready for its mission. Inspections, testing, fueling, and encapsulation into the fairing often take place in this facility. In some cases, the spacecraft may be transferred to a Hypergolic Fueling Facility for loading the
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propellant (this propellant is for on-orbit station keeping, a much smaller amount than necessary to get to orbit). Most processing facilities are also clean rooms, which means the air is filtered to remove almost all particles, up to 100,000 parts per million. This is to ensure nothing contaminates the surfaces or sensors of the spacecraft. Contamination can render instruments useless, reduce solar power generation, and even cause deterioration of the spacecraft body in the space environment. Transport Systems All space ports have two types of transportation systems: Intra-Port Systems and Inter-Port Systems. Intra-Port systems include various means of moving satellites and rockets around the port, most often by rail, road, or water. The Russian spaceport at Baikonur, Kazakhstan relies on rail transport from the processing facility to the pad. The new Antares rocket at WFF is moved over the road from the Horizontal Integration Facility to the pad. Wallops has also utilized barge transport for some special test rockets from the main base to the launch complexes on Wallops Island. Inter-Port Systems are those used to get the rocket and spacecraft to the spaceport. All modes of transportation are used for most facilities, but are usually dependent on the vehicle and satellite. Delta IV is transported by a special ship from Decatur Alabama to Vandenberg AFB, CA. Minotaur stages are transported by rail from the depot in Utah to Wallops1 and Vandenberg AFB. The Cygnus spacecraft is flown into Wallops, while other spacecraft are trucked in. Receiving Areas Naturally, all transport systems terminate at some sort of receiving area for off-loading. Runways, docks, and truck facilities are all commonplace at space ports. Propellant Storage and Processing Chemical propulsion systems, or engines, use rocket propellants that are classified as solid, liquid, or hybrid. Solid propellants are cast directly into the rocket stages and require very little special attention. Liquid propellants, which are categorized as storables, cryogenics, or hypergols, require more attention. Storable rocket propellants, for example a kerosense-like fuel known as RP-1, are much like any other storable fuel, such as gasoline, and require much less sophisticated tankage and transfer systems. Cryogenics, such as oxidizer liquid oxygen (LOX), are extremely cold propellants which require more specialized tankage and transfer systems. Hypergols, such as the self-igniting fuel hydrazine and oxidizer nitrogen tetroxide, are the most hazardous, as they are extremely toxic and extremely reactive; they cannot come into contact with certain common materials or they will combust. Hypergols require very specialized tankage and transfer systems, as well as many associated safety systems. Due to the nature of the various types of propellants, locating the propellant tanks near the launch pad allows for quick loading and unloading of propellants. At some ports, propellants and pressurants are manufactured on site to reduce shipping hazards, complexities, and costs.
1 There is potential for improvement with rail transport to Wallops since the rail line does not go all the way to the processing facilities. The rocket must be offloaded near Wallops, then trucked on, which increases complexity of the transport.
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3.1.2 Launch Range Geography The Lead Range is also called the launch head. It is the site where the rocket is being launched from. Often times, due to the distances rockets cover during ascent, they enter into the visibility of other ranges. This often works to the Lead Range’s advantage. The Lead Range is able to coordinate with the Support Range to provide continued tracking of the rocket after it has left their initial view. The Support Range is typically midrange (along the flight trajectory of the rocket), and provides minor to full support. When Wallops launches ELVs, the ER acts as a Support Range and provides telemetry data from one of their sites on Ascension Island. This effectively extends the coverage of a single range, providing increased safety and mission assurance. Uprange, midrange, and downrange are terms for general geographic areas within a single range. Uprange is the area around the launch space port, also called the launch head or rangehead. The majority of range instrumentation is located uprange. Midrange is used to loosely define assets that are located along the flight trajectory that extend the coverage. The new mobile tracking site in Bermuda serves as a midrange for Wallops. Downrange is generally reserved for an area where impacts occur. Many bomb and gun ranges have a downrange area, and some large launch ranges also have a downrange. For example, when an ICBM is test launched from Vandenberg at the WR, the inert warhead reenters downrange at Reagan Test Site (RTS) on the Kwajalein Atol. RTS is just as instrumental as the launch head, but is used to track the inbound target. Location As previously discussed, spaceports are located in remote areas where overflight is possible over unpopulated areas. Other factors, such as the inclination of orbit and the latitude of the launch site, are also considered when determining the location of a spaceport and launch range. The primary objective of an ELV launch is to deploy a spacecraft into a desired orbit. The physics laws of orbital mechanics dictate what orbits can be achieved directly from any given point on the ground. The launch azimuth (direction of flight angle measured from true north to launch direction) determines the orbit direction. A rocket launched due north or due south will enter a polar orbit, launching anywhere between 0 and 180 degrees azimuth will insert the spacecraft into a prograde orbit (with the direction of earth’s rotation), and a launch between 180 and 360 degrees azimuth will result in a retro-grade orbit (against the rotation of the earth). All types of orbits have specific desirable qualities for different types of space missions. The latitude of the launch site determines the lowest inclination (or tilt) of the orbit. The orbit is a circle (or ellipse) and the center must be at the center of the earth. The launch point is automatically a point on the orbit, since that is where it starts. No matter how the orbit is rotated, we cannot decrease the inclination since the orbit must always pass over the launch site latitude (the earth will rotate, so it will not always pass over the launch site). It is possible to launch into any higher inclination, as long as the azimuth is permitted. The center is still the center of the earth, and a point is still the launch site, but we can rotate the orbit.
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Figure 2. The inclination or tilt of an orbit determines the ground trace of the spacecraft.
Figure 3. The number of launch opportunities into a particular orbit depends on the latitude of the launch site. Northern launch sites are more restricted than southern sites. A launch site whose latitude is less than the orbit inclination has two opportunities per day (one ascending trajectory and one descending trajectory), which may present more options for launch if there are over flight restrictions.
Since the earth is rotating but orbits are fixed in inertial space, there are only so many times a spacecraft can be launched directly into orbit. These times are the launch windows. The Launch Window Size is measured in time (seconds, minutes, hours), and the length is based on the accuracy of orbit required. If it has to be perfect, the window is 1 second; if it does not need to be perfect, it can be longer. Windows are usually determined based on other objects already in orbit, known as collision avoidance. The Launch Window Occurrence (sometimes referred to as launch opportunity) is the number of launch opportunities there are in one day. The opportunity is based on the latitude of launch site (L) and inclination of orbit (i). Airspace Most ranges have authority over the airspace directly above them, but not out over the oceans or land areas where the rocket trajectory crosses. The airspace over the spaceport is controlled due to safety and security reasons, primarily due to the number of hazardous operations taking place, plus most ranges have a runway. The rest of the airspace is controlled by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and military. The lead range coordinates with the FAA and military to
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reserve airspace for specific times associated with the launch window. For some missions, this can require diverting many airline flights around the reserved airspace, or force military operations to stand down. In some cases, international coordination is required. Safety In order to ensure public safety, launch ranges focus on three specific flight safety areas. The range first ensures area clearance, making sure there are no personnel in hazard areas, and verifying no boats, aircraft or other foulers are in the keep out areas along the trajectory. The range is verified clear with the use of surveillance cameras, spotter aircraft, and radars. Launch ranges also observe weather conditions to ensure that if the rocket fails or if the rocket must be terminated, the debris and toxic plume will not drift into populated areas. Ranges are peppered with various meteorological instruments and they get feeds from national weather systems to detect winds, lightening, precipitation, etc. Lastly, the range verifies that they always have the means to terminate the flight if the rocket does not perform properly. A flight termination system consists of command transmitters on the ground and a destruct package on the rocket. Based on tracking data, if the rocket is performing non-nominally, the range safety officer will send a command to the rocket and the destruct charge will end the flight in a safe manner, before the rocket poses a threat to the public. Tracking From the early days of ranges, the primary purpose has been to support testing of missiles, and the best way to collect data on them was to use ground-based sensors such as radar and optics, and to collect telemetered data. Ranges are comprised of approximately equal numbers of radar, telemetry, and optical trackers. The radars send a signal which is reflected by the rocket and received by the radar. The system calculates position and rate change based on where it is pointed, the time it takes for the signal to bounce back, and the rate at which both change. Telemetry antennas are tuned to the radio frequency that the rocket is transmitting data. The data stream is chock full of information, ranging from engine or motor performance, attitude of the rocket, health of on-board systems, and in some cases, science data. Radar and telemetry data is processed by various systems on the range and used to display performance in the control centers and to generate pointing data for other sensors to locate the rocket. Optics range from high- speed pad cameras which capture every detail of the launch event for later review, to long-range tracking cameras which provide real-time video to the control centers to confirm flight events (staging, fairing separation, etc.). Command and Control Facilities Range operations are very complicated and require careful coordination among many participants in many different locations. Command and control facilities are designed to provide workspace for range and mission personnel to orchestrate these operations. Each facility is equipped with the necessary communications systems, video displays, data systems, clocks, computers, network interfaces, and specialized consoles for operators to methodically step through countdown checklists and prepare the range for launch. The facilities are categorized loosely into Launch Control, Mission Control, and Range Control. Launch Control Facilities are focused on the launch vehicle. The operators monitor the health of the rocket and initiate the launch sequence. They are often located near the launch complex and are sometimes referred to as “Blockhouses.”
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Mission Control Facilities are focused on the spacecraft or payload of the mission. The operators monitor the health of the spacecraft and ensure other sites and groups around the world are ready to support the mission. These centers are sometimes located at spaceports, but it is not required. Range Control Facilities are focused on the readiness of the range to safely launch and track the rocket. The operators are focused on tracking system readiness, area clearance, and safety. This center is usually the most prominent, and the operations are led out of this center. 3.1.3 Space Mission Types (Programs) Space provides the ultimate “high ground” location for providing high-value services across the public, commercial, government, and military sectors. The challenges of spaceflight and orbital mechanics are also the enablers of some fantastic capabilities. From a geostationary orbit, a spacecraft can maintain a constant view of the earth, good for earth observation missions like weather forecasting. Geostationary orbits also enable the spacecraft to stay in a fixed position with reference to a ground station, making it ideal for communications, such as satellite TV. The space environment provides a clear view, both looking at earth, and looking away (for performing astronomy missions like the Hubble). By launching multiple similar spacecraft into a “constellation,” ground sensors can view multiple satellites at the same time, enabling triangulation technology employed in navigation. Note 1: The United Nations Space Treaty bans deploying weapons in space. Note 2: Table adapted from “Space Mission Analysis and Design” illustrates some different examples of space missions; these types of missions are the industrial focus areas that Economic Development should seek to bring closer to Wallops.
Table 2
Space Mission Categories and Examples Communications Remote Sensing Navigation Weapons* In-Situ Science Other Television Weather Navigation Kinetic International Space Signal (GPS) Energy Space Station Transportation Radio Mapping Ranging Directed Technology Space Tourism (beacons) Energy Development Long-Distance Earth Observation Escorts Planetary Space Burial Phone Service (Science) Science
Satellite Phones Early Warning Sample Return Power Generation Internet/Data Military Resource Intelligence Utilization On-Orbit Relay Astronomy
Note 1: The United Nations Space Treaty bans deploying weapons in space.
Note 2: Table adapted from “Space Mission Analysis and Design” (Wertz & Larson, 1999)
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3.2 Identify Competing Commercial Spaceflight Activity Locations This section identifies locations that are also engaged in commercial space launch activities. There are two general categories of rocket launch and test sites within the U.S.: Federal launch sites and FAA licensed spaceports. Federal launch sites are operated by a federal agency, typically the DOD, and have been around since the 1940s. Spaceports are operated at a state level typically as a state government and corporate partnership. Figure 4 shows an overview of the current U.S. Federal Launch Sites and FAA Licensed Spaceports.
Figure 4. U.S. Federal Launch Sites and FAA Licensed Spaceports (Federal Aviation Administration, 2010)
The launch sites and spaceports land locked within the U.S. have clearly defined boundaries and are limited to sub-orbital launches with smaller rockets due to safety restrictions. Those launch sites and spaceports on ocean front property can support orbital launches given the availability of the bordering ocean area to mitigate safety concerns associated with launching larger rockets. WFF and the co-located MARS represent one of four sites within the U.S. capable of launching ELV class rockets. The term ELV denotes that these launch vehicles are not recovered from the ocean once their payloads are placed into orbit. There are separate classes of launch vehicles commonly used such as Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) denoting systems that are recovered after launch. An example of a RLV would be the Space Shuttle’s two Solid Rocket Boosters which were recovered and reused after each mission. RLVs are not common due to the high cost of recovery and refurbishment of the hardware following launch.
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The NASA WFF launch site has the current infrastructure to support the ELV class rockets described in Table 3.
Table 3
ELV Rocket Classes Lift Size Provider Vehicle Max Payload Small Orbital Science Corporation Pegasus (Air Launched) 890 lbs Minotaur I 1,300 lbs Minotaur IV 1,800 lbs Minotaur V No Estimate Taurus XL 2,900 lbs Medium Orbital Science Corporation Antares 11,000 lbs
The other sites within the U.S. capable of ELV class rocket launches are the U.S. Air Force’s ER, the U.S. Air Force’s WR, and the State of Alaska’s Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC). There are ELV launch capable facilities outside of the U.S. under the management of the Russian Federal Space Agency and the European Space Agency (ESA) that can be defined as competitors for the U.S. launch industry. Several other non-U.S. countries have active space industries working to develop an ELV capability, but at this time are not perceived competitors to the U.S. launch industry.
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3.2.1 Eastern Range The ER is operated by the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Space Wing headquartered at Patrick AFB located in Brevard County, Florida. The ER consists of multiple launch facilities and instrumentation sites working in concert. The launch sites under the ER umbrella include NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Florida’s Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The ER instrumentation sites consist of multiple locations in Florida, a site on the Island of Antigua in the West Indies, a site on Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean near the Equator, and an as needed site in Argentia in Newfoundland. The ER routinely supports both DOD and NASA missions focusing on medium to heavy lift ELV launches. Medium-lift ELVs are those capable of placing between 10,000 to 15,000 pounds of payload into low earth orbit. Heavy-lift ELVs are those capable of placing between 50,000 to 120,000 pounds into low earth orbit. The ER launch vehicles associated with these levels of access to space are described in Table 4 below.
Table 4
ER Launch Vehicles Lift Size Provider Vehicle Max Payload Medium Lockheed Martin Corporation Athena III 13,000 lbs Inter-mediate Space Exploration Technologies Falcon 9 14,600 lbs United Launch Alliance (Lockheed & Boeing) Delta IV 17,900 lbs Atlas V 20,650 lbs Heavy United Launch Alliance (Lockheed & Boeing) Delta IV Heavy 50,800 lbs Atlas Heavy 64,820 lbs Space Exploration Technologies Falcon 9 Heavy 120,000 lbs
ER’s location on the East Coast somewhat limits the orbits in which payloads can be placed. Orbital mechanics dictates that given the rotation of the Earth that East Coast launch sites are better suited for low earth orbits and equatorial orbits like geostationary and geosynchronous. Most satellites and the International Space Station (ISS) are in these types of orbits around the Earth. WFF is called upon to support ER operations as an instrumentation site depending on the fly out trajectory of the rocket being launched. This type of WFF support for the ER is routine and has been ongoing for many years.
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3.2.2 Western Range The WR is operated by the U.S. Air Force’s 30th Space Wing headquartered at Vandenberg AFB located near Lompoc, California. The California Spaceport operated by the Spaceport Systems International is co-located with the WR. The WR instrumentation sites span the west coast of California, mid-range sites in the Hawaiian Islands, and downrange sites in the Marshall Islands. The WR is the testing location for the U.S. fleet of ICBMs. ICBMs are randomly selected, de- armed, instrumented, and launched from the WR multiple times a year to ensure the fleet’s viability through sample testing. The WR is also the primary launch site in the U.S. for all levels of ELV class rockets going into polar type orbits. The type of orbit is again dictated by the rotation of the Earth and orbital mechanics. Table 5 shows the launch vehicles that the WR can support.
Table 5
Western Range Launch Vehicles Lift Size Provider Vehicle Max Payload Small Lift Orbital Sciences Corporation Pegasus (Air Launched) 890 lbs Minotaur I 1,300 lbs Minotaur IV 1,800 lbs Minotaur V No Estimate Taurus XL 2,900 lbs Inter-mediate Lift Space Exploration Technologies Falcon 9 14,600 lbs United Launch Alliance Delta IV 17,900 lbs (Lockheed & Boeing) Atlas V 20,650 lbs Heavy Lift United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy 50,800 lbs (Lockheed & Boeing) Atlas Heavy 64,820 lbs Space Exploration Technologies Falcon 9 Heavy 120,000 lbs
Satellites and spacecraft launched from the WR typically enter into a polar type orbit. Polar orbits are often used for earth-mapping, earth observation, capturing the earth as time passes from one point and reconnaissance satellites, as well as for some weather satellites.
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3.2.3 Kodiak Launch Complex The KLC is owned and operated by the Alaska Aerospace Corporation (AAC) which is a state- owned independent corporation established by the Alaska State Legislature to create aerospace related economic development in the state. AAC is administratively aligned under the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) and the Alaska National Guard. KLC is not co-located with another federal launch site and does not have a dedicated primary mission like other launch sites referenced in this document. AAC markets KLC as an alternative to the WR for small-lift ELVs and is trying to expand into medium-lift ELVs. KLC has the current infrastructure to support the launch vehicles in Table 6.
Table 6
Kodiak Launch Vehicles Lift Size Provider Vehicle Max Payload Minotaur IV 1,800 lbs Orbital Science Corporation Minotaur V No Estimate Small Athena I 1,800 lbs Lockheed Martin Athena II 4,550 lbs
AAC has partnership agreements in place with the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and the Lockheed Martin Corporation to serve as the dedicated West Coast launch site for the Athena family of rockets. 3.2.4 International Locations Russian Federal Space Agency The Russian Federal Space Agency is headquartered in Moscow and conducts launch operations out of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. A Russian aerospace company Rocket and Space Corporation (RSC) Energia now owns Sea Launch which is a converted sea-based oil platform. The Russian Federal Space Agency is the number one provider of ELV rockets in the world. The Russian Federal Space Agency maintains the position of low cost leader on a global scale affording them a launch manifest ten times that of the next country on the list. Table 7 lists the launch vehicles that the Russian Federal Space Agency offers to its customers.
Table 7
Russian Launch Vehicles Lift Size Vehicle Max Payload Small Dnepr 9,900 lbs Medium Soyuz 12,000 lbs Zenit (Sea Launch) 30,300 lbs Heavy Proton 46,000 lbs
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The lion share of the global commercial satellite industry goes to the Russian Federal Space Agency to put their satellite into space. The typical commercial satellite company does not begin drawing revenue until their satellite is in orbit and providing a service. The Russian launch sites have the launch tempo to minimize the on ground wait time for these commercial satellite companies. The launch tempo also affords the Russian Federal Space Agency an economy of scale driving down the individual unit cost of each launch. Russia passes this savings on to launch customers. For these two reasons, it will be very difficult for any other country, including the U.S., to pull away these commercial satellite customers from Russia. European Space Agency The ESA is an intergovernmental organization made up of 20 member states and headquartered in Paris, France. The ESA conducts operations at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. The primary purpose of the ESA is to facilitate the access to space needs of its own member states. When possible, the ESA offers service to other countries and organizations. The ESA expanded their capabilities into medium lift in 2001 by bringing the Russian Soyuz rocket into operation at the Guiana Space Centre. The ESA now offers the launch vehicles in Table 8 to their customers.
Table 8
ESA Launch Vehicles Lift Size Vehicle Max Payload Small Vega 3,300 lbs Medium Soyuz 12,000 lbs Heavy Ariane 5 46,300 lbs Other International Launch Providers There are a small number of countries with a current ELV access to space capability or who are trying to develop an ELV access to space capability. These countries are Australia, Brazil, China, India, Israel, and Japan. These countries’ capabilities are not going to be described. The goal of said countries to develop ELV access to space capability is primarily to facilitate their own access to space needs. It is not perceived that these countries represent a significant competitor to the U.S. for capturing future ELV launches. Summary of Launch Sites The U.S. launch sites have begun to settle into four business lanes as described in Table 9 below.
Table 9
US Launch Sites Orbit Direction Lift Category Launch Range Polar and Retrograde Small to Medium Lift KLC (West Coast) Intermediate to Heavy Lift WR Prograde Small to Medium Lift WFF (East Coast) Intermediate to Heavy Lift ER
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The small to medium lift market is not without competition. The co-located spaceports at the WR (California Spaceport) and ER (Cape Canaveral Spaceport) are focused on the same ELV lift capability as KLC and WFF. However, competition is not an issue as the launch vehicle providers have notionally selected dedicated launch sites. Orbital Sciences Corporation has selected WFF for their Minotaur family of rockets on the East Coast and Lockheed Martin Corporation has selected the Cape Canaveral Spaceport for their Athena family of rockets on the West Coast. The Athena family of rockets has not launched since 2001 and only recently has Lockheed Martin Corporation begun marketing it again. The International locations highlighted within this document focus almost solely on heavy-lift ELVs and therefore are not direct competitors with NASA WFF. Because NASA WFF supports ER launches and ER competes with those international launch providers, there is some degree of indirect competition. Unfortunately, there is little to nothing that can be done at the local government level to influence the launch site location decision of spacecraft providers looking at launch site providers on a global scale.
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3.3 Identify Wallops’ Competitive Advantages This section identifies the key components of Wallops that make it an attractive and competitive launch site, as well as identifies some limiting focal points. 3.3.1 Strengths
Table 10
Wallops SWOT Analysis
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES Gateway to space for over 60 years Federal range regulatory and safety Wallops a household name requirements Established supply chain International programs on a federal range Full service space transportation infrastructure Federal policy hinders commercial ventures Experienced workforce Other federal range users Established business services Corrosive environment and aging Intermodal access by land, sea, air, rail, and space infrastructure Established tourist industry and infrastructure Difficult to fund reinvestment for facilities Established launch management and operations Need licensed commercial (horizontal) Improved customer service focus launch site Modeling and simulation capability Need licensed commercial (vertical) launch Major aerospace contingent in place pad More than just launch services Business plan still evolving Best location for launch to ISS Aerospace R&D investment levels Rocket science and orbital mechanics Marketing strategy and online presence Improved spaceport technology and capacity Commercialization incentive options Political atmosphere supportive of change Launch focus can lead to missed Federal commercialization of services opportunities Consolidated aerospace enterprise into single agency Coordinated education programs to develop Improved ties to academia workforce State focus on improving education Strong state and federal delegations for space Public support Perception aerospace is Space Coast only issue OPPORTUNITIES THREATS Vision for Space Exploration is the future Domestic spaceports COTS/Antares will establish manufacturing supply chain International spaceports NASA Shuttle retirement in 2010 Federal range users COTS to supply ISS and space missions Perception federal ranges not commercial Commercial use of Wallops Runway customer-friendly Development of a licensed commercial (horizontal) launch The “gap” between Shuttle and SLS site Severe weather impact on insurability New generation of aerospace entrepreneurs Population growth and coastal expansion Emerging space tourism market Adequate funding for aerospace programs Reuse of surplus facilities and resources National defense/security and homeland Space technology commercial applications and hypersonic security Creative incentives for aerospace economic development National commercial space launch policy Aerospace economic development diversification Federal range regulatory requirements Universal flight safety system for commercial use Subsidies and incentives Aerospace enterprise partnerships Operating in an environmentally sensitive Educational poised to partner as never before area Work can be spread throughout Maryland/Virginia Much more than just launch
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Strength: Low-Cost Access to Space and Range Responsiveness The combination of low-cost access to space and the ability to respond quickly to the demand for Range services is a valuable strength of the Research Range. This combination provides a great benefit to the developing and experimental launch vehicle industry. The low-cost, responsive nature of Wallops is critical for the support of testing for new exploration technologies. An on-site Range Safety Office (RSO) at Wallops develops and controls all Research Range Safety policies. The RSO ensures all safety measures are followed for all events. The RSO also ensures adherence to external Range policies including the ER. Having the RSO on site allows for planning of contingencies in advance and quick response to Range Safety issues. Strength: Integrated Spaceport, Range, and Research Airport WFF is the only NASA-operated integrated spaceport and Research Range co-located with a research airport. The WFF spaceport consists of the facilities, systems, and equipment necessary to support the safe and efficient receipt, inspection, storage, ground transfer, testing, assembly, checkout, propellant loading, ordnance installation, countdown, launch, flight, recovery, and post-flight disassembly and safeguarding of various types of launch vehicles and spacecraft. Some of the spaceport assets at WFF (including a processing facility and two launch pads) are leased to a state government operator, the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VCSFA), now an element of MARS. Strength: Controlled Airspace The research airport at WFF is owned and operated by NASA to support various user programs. Key features include the Controlled Airspace (also used to support suborbital and orbital launches), FAA-certified runways, an experimental UAV runway, Crash, Fire, and Rescue Services, and FAA-qualified Air Traffic Controllers. The controlled airspace includes the following restricted areas: The WFF Airport Control Zone: Airspace vertically to 2,500 feet in a 5-statute mile radius of the airport. Restricted Area R-6604: Restricted airspace connecting WFF and offshore warning areas. Surface area and airspace extending from Restricted Area R-6604 into the offshore warning areas: The extended area varies with the particular mission/project activity and is limited to that area for which specific use has been cleared with the responsible agencies. Strength: Location The Range is based at WFF on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Range services are provided at locations around the world to achieve specific mission goals. The Wallops launch range is the only commercially accessible facility with access to the Mid-Atlantic Test Range warning area. Our local restricted area (R-6604) connects the launch range with the offshore warning area, making it possible to achieve virtually unrestricted airspace. Wallops personnel also can coordinate additional open airspace and surface area with the FAA and the U.S. Navy Fleet Air Control and Surveillance Facility to accommodate specific missions and projects. The Wallops Research Range is located on Virginia’s Eastern Shore providing a mid-Atlantic launch site for orbital and suborbital rockets. WFF consists of three separate parcels of real
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property: the Main Base, the Mainland, and the Wallops Island Launch Site. The Wallops Research Range is ideal for coastal carbon cycle studies and providing equatorial access for low- earth orbit insertion. WFF does not have any downrange boundaries; the ground based Range is only limited by land masses. The Research Range supports missions that exceed the capability and safety margins of other ranges and is a highly attractive location for meeting unique launch requirements. WFF offers a wide array of launch vehicle trajectory options. The coastline of Wallops Island is oriented such that a launch azimuth of 135° is perpendicular to the shoreline. In general, launch azimuths between 90° and 160° can be accommodated depending on impact ranges. For most orbital vehicles, this translates into orbital inclinations between 38° and approximately 60°. Trajectory options outside of these launch azimuths, including polar and sun- synchronous orbits, can be achieved by in-flight azimuth maneuvers.
Figure 5. Wallops can launch ELVs into orbital inclinations between 38o and 60o, providing access for remote sensing spacecraft as well as service to the International Space Station.
Strength: Other Locations For ELV missions launched from Wallops, such as Antares or Minotaur, mobile downrange systems are needed for complete tracking, telemetry and command systems coverage. WFF maintains sites in both Coquina, North Carolina and on Bermuda to provide this coverage. Mobile radar, telemetry, command, and power systems are currently based in these locations and manned only when needed. Crews of 10 personnel are deployed to each of these locations to
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support launch operations and also to conduct periodic maintenance and testing. Deployments are typically conducted every other month and last from 10-21 days depending on the purpose. To help maintain the sites, WFF contracts with local businesses in both locations to provide equipment transportation, site improvements and site services. Additionally, WFF contracts with local, national, and international communication services to provide inter-site voice and data, which include high-bandwidth circuits, for mission-critical data that needs to be transmitted to WFF in real-time for mission support.
Figure 6. Mobile Range Instrumentation set up in Coopers Island, Bermuda to provide ELV support.
Strengths: Advantages of Wallops for ELV and Other Aerospace Activities Wallops provides unique services to NASA and the nation with fixed and deployable mobile instrumentation valued at more than $231 million. The Range enables flexible, low-cost access to space, in-flight science, and technology research from the WFF spaceport, other launch ranges, and from remote locations around the world. A core capability is the provision of tracking, telemetry, and command services, along with optical coverage and weather measurements, all coordinated through its Range Control Center (RCC) to support various user- sponsored missions, including: Astronomical and atmospheric science observations, in-space experiments, and various technology development activities using suborbital sounding rockets, high altitude balloons, and ELVs carrying spacecraft into orbit. Flight T&E activities involving research aircraft and UAVs. In cooperation with other ranges, and military development tests, training, and exercises involving surface ship combat systems, aircraft, and missile defense systems.
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Wallops offer customers a variety of unique features and benefits. These include: A geographic setting combined with adequate Range instrumentation to provide safe access to a variety of trajectories and orbits from an easy-to-reach launch location in the Continental U.S., offering an opportunity for programs to reduce their logistics costs compared to operating from multiple, remote locations. Outstanding Range availability and schedule flexibility, including access to week-long blocks of scheduled Range time, enabling users to resolve issues with new and/or complex flight systems, leading to improved mission assurance. Flexible Range support capabilities and streamlined processes to enable customer programs to be accommodated within weeks to a few months, as opposed to years of advance planning required at some other ranges, enabling responsive access to space. Test Range philosophy that enables support for development testing of new flight vehicles, systems, and Range technologies. Rapidly deployable and flexibly configured mobile Range assets to support operations at other ranges or from remote locations around the world where no other Range infrastructure exists. Compatibility with DOD Major Range and Test Facility Base ranges through participation in the Range Commanders Council and voluntary compliance with Inter- Range Instrumentation Group (IRIG) standards, enabling WFF to function in cooperative lead-Range/support-Range roles with DOD Ranges. Quality Services due to the experience level of the operations and engineering staff, a critical key to the quality of services. The Research Range staff has a reputation of always being prepared for each mission. There is a low-turnover ratio and many of the staff has been at Wallops working with the same equipment in excess of 10 years. The staff has an unparalleled ability to quickly fix problems, respond to instrumentation performance issues in real-time, and achieve high reliability in capturing metric data. Compared to Wallops, no other U.S. space launch and test Range can consistently offer a comparable density of Range instrumentation for tracking, telemetry, command and optical coverage. As a result, WFF has the capability to support users requiring: Concurrent operations with dedicated instrumentation for each flight vehicle. Redundant Range instrumentation coverage. Spatial diversity and information assurance. A variety of viewing angles for optical instruments. Flexibility and adaptability through use of deployable mobile assets.
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3.3.2 Weaknesses Historically, Wallops has received very little of the market share of global launch opportunities. Figure 7 illustrates the number of commercial space launches (non-military) that occurred or will occur world-wide from 1993 through 2021. This chart represents some of the opportunity given that Wallops was able to acquire more of the forecasted business (approximately 2 non- geosynchronous (NGSO) launches per year are currently manifested from Wallops to provide commercial resupply to the ISS). However, this chart also represents a tremendous amount of lost opportunity, as none of the historical NGSO or GSO launches came from Wallops; the only Wallops launches were DOD. Figure 8 shows a more detailed cross section of all spaceports over the past decade. Wallops only acquired 4 ELV launches in the past decade (NFIRE, TacSat- 2, TacSat-3, and ORS-1). This indicates a weakness at Wallops, which is most likely due to its limited infrastructure to support large numbers of launches.
Figure 7. Global Launch Projections through 2021 (Federal Aviation Administration, 2012). GSO are geosynchronous orbits and NGSO are non-geosynchronous; total launches are arrived by summing the two categories. This chart does not include the launch of military spacecraft.
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Figure 8. Breakdown of all launches (military and commercial) from 2004 to 2013. Wallops launched only a fraction of a percent of the world’s launches. Data comprised of multiple primary and secondary sources.
Weakness: Limited Infrastructure to Support Additional Launches Wallops currently has a limited infrastructure to support large numbers of launches… there are not enough launch pads, processing facilities and control centers to support an increased ELV mission set. Wallops’ Senior Management identified a new Control Center and new North Island Fueling Facilities as key infrastructure upgrades to improve range availability. They will increase the throughput of spacecraft and the number of concurrent operations. Plans are in work for a new Mission Launch Command Center illustrated in Figure 9, which presents a future growth opportunity for construction companies. There is also potential to build a new North Island Hypergolic Fueling Facility, which would bring immediate opportunity to the construction industry, and the two additions combined will enable Wallops to process more vehicles and operations. There are also plans in work to develop a north island UAV runway. The design is ready, but will cost roughly $4.5M. This will need to come from a dedicated customer, who would naturally get priority use, but the runway would increase overall UAV operations capabilities.
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Figure 9. Artists rendition of new Mission Launch Command Center, construction to begin in 2014.
While these additional facilities will improve range availability and bring in more customers, there is still a challenge that additional processing facilities and launch complexes are necessary in order to really increase the quantity of launches. The Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority Strategic Plan identifies the lack of physical space to build new facilities as both a weakness and a threat. (Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, 2012) (33-34) There are only two buildings capable of processing large rockets and only two pads capable of launching them. Both pads are vehicle specific.
Weakness: Necessary Land to Build Additional Launch Facilities The other problem is that Wallops does not have enough real estate to build all the facilities that are necessary. However, since Wallops was sited in a generally unpopulated area, there are large expanses of open (unpopulated/undeveloped) land surrounding the spaceport. This presents a significant opportunity to commercial enterprises to buy up parcels of land and establish processing facilities and even launch complexes “off-property.” There are no hard requirements for these facilities to be located within the gates of the government owned property, only that the actual range operations are coordinated with and supported/overseen by NASA from Wallops proper. While the facility locations do not have specific requirements, the specifications of the facilities are different than most common use office or manufacturing space. These are special purpose processing and launching structures that need to handle hazardous materials, explosives, and extremely sensitive equipment. Reference 3.1.1 for a discussion of spaceport facilities Wallops Island is running out of room… there is no more room for launch pads, runways, instrumentation, processing facilities… the range can sustain an increased ops tempo, there is just no room to do it. Growth potential for Wallops area is to establish off-site private processing facilities and launch complexes.
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3.4 Identify Planned Launches The following graphic illustrates the expected launch activities over the next seven years. This is primary source data, and while the range schedule is constantly changing, this is reflective of what the range is actively planning for. Note that the baseline plan is roughly 6 local sounding rockets and up to 3 ELVs per year. The ELVs that are scheduled will not require additional infrastructure investment. The range schedule is very dynamic, and launches have a strong tendency to “slip” to the right, usually due to spacecraft or vehicle problems.
Figure 10. Forecasted schedule of Wallops launches. Roughly 6 sounding rockets, 2 Antares, and 1 DOD ELV will be launched annually from Wallops. Wallops also supports ongoing UAV and aeronautical tests and deploys staff and equipment to remote locations to track sounding rockets. Source: Wallops Range Services Management Office
This schedule sheds light on the reality that there are not any strong signs of growth, just sustainment of the current level of activity. Growth, therefore, will come largely in the form of indirect industry. Growth at Wallops is most likely to occur when mission needs dictate more launch capability, which will result in new launch vehicles coming to Wallops, most likely needing new processing facilities and launch pads.
A growth opportunity exists if new launch providers came to Wallops. SpaceX is a company with a medium class ELV whose processing needs are similar to the existing vehicles at Wallops. A growth opportunity may exist if SpaceX could be convinced to establish a launch site at Wallops.
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3.5 Specific ELV-Related Growth Opportunities This section explains where growth can be expected if there was an increase in activity at Wallops, as well as what areas should be “grown” in order to increase activity at Wallops.
We have taken special effort to identify specific growth focus areas by showcasing them in the green textboxes.
3.5.1 Direct Industry This section presents the major industries that directly support commercial space launch activities. These industries are dived into Operations Services, Institutional Services, and Vehicle/Spacecraft Services.
Specifically at Wallops, the following companies provide direct support to the Commercial Launch Industry. The following listing breaks apart the types of support and identifies the contract information for them. Facilities – Prime Contractor: VT Group, Subcontractors: URS Value: $413M (5 Years) Engineering – Prime Contractor: CSC, Subcontractors: LJT Value: $30M (5 Years) Sounding Rockets – Prime Contractor: Orbital Science, Subcontractors: LJT Value: $125 million to $310M (5 Years) Range Operations – Prime Contractor: LJT, Subcontractors: Exelis, Orbital Science, CSC Value: $115M (5 Years) Safety – Prime Contractor: Millennium Engineering, Value: $25M (5 Years) Launch Vehicle Processing – Prime Contractor: Orbital Science Corporation Subcontractors: Yuzhnoye, ATK, Aerojet Value: Unknown
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Operations Services Operations services provides the day-to-day support to the actual mission of Wallops. This includes ground processing of spacecraft, air traffic and airport management, range instrumentation operations, etc. The Range and Launch Operation services industry has experienced significant direct growth through the recent launches of the Minotaur and Antares ELVs. To meet the new requirements of the ELV launches, the workforce has increased and upgrades and modifications to range instrumentation were implemented. The workforce increases include 30 civil servants and contractors. 50% Require some college or Associates degree in fields of mechanical and electrical technicians. 50% Require Bachelor’s degree and higher in the fields of Program and Project Management, Purchasing, Financial Analysis, Business Management, and Engineering.
Workforce Education in the fields of Radar, Telemetry, High Pressure Systems Operations, Safety, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering are areas to consider investing in and enhancing local educational programs. These jobs are paying between $50k to $100k per year. Many of these positions have been filled with candidates from outside of the Eastern Shore. Local universities and colleges are not producing viable candidates so in the future we will continue to look beyond the Eastern Shore.
Upgrades and modifications to the range systems include modernization of the video distribution systems, telemetry tracking systems, precision timing systems, control center video and surveillance systems and new control centers. Most of these upgrades and investments into the range systems are non-recurring. Sustainment engineering efforts on range systems are also constantly taking place at Wallops and represent a significant portion of the maintenance budget. Some of the larger efforts include working with vendors to implement the latest configuration changes to the range communications system, replacing aging antenna control units with modern, interchangeable equipment, and implementing modern, sustainable telemetry receivers and processors in place of legacy equipment.
Range Systems are unique with few providers in the market place. Many of these companies specialize in customized systems for NASA and the DOD to meet specific mission requirements. Many of these companies are located in the Silicon Valley, Los Angeles and along the West Coast. Companies are also emerging in France to meet the European demand. See Table 11 for the list of companies that supply range instrumentation and systems.
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Table 11
Title
Mission Workforce Procurements Other Costs Antares One time growth of 29 FTE $5 Million in system $500k Travel Costs to Non-recurring (Full Time Equivalent) upgrades and modifications implement down range sites Civil Servant and Contractor to range systems in Bermuda and Coquina, Increase to meet program NC requirements Antares Launch No Increase $500k Surveillance Services $200k Travel costs (Recurring) and small system enhancements Minotaur No Increase $300k Surveillance Services $75k Travel costs Launch and small system (Recurring) enhancements
Institutional Services Institutional services are those related to the general sustainment of the facilities of and support services at Wallops. This includes but is not limited to: building maintenance, power service, emergency services, and HVAC, plumbing service. There has been no significant increase to the institutional services including facility engineering, operations and maintenance; logistics; health; environmental; and emergency services and financial services related to the increase in ELV launches. New facilities including the Horizontal Integration Facility, Launch Pad, Liquid Fueling Facility and personnel safety systems such as early warning lightning detection have been implemented to meet the requirements of the Antares vehicle. There are no new significant infrastructure requirements for follow-on ELV launches. Starting September 2010, the FAA began issuing spaceport grants to strengthen commercial space activities. This grant program follows the precedence set for the FAA issuing grant for airport to improve their facilities and infrastructure. In 2010, the first matching grants included: $43,000 for the New Mexico Spaceport Authority Automated Weather Observing System $227,195 to the AAC for a Rocket Motor Storage Facility $125,000 to the East Kern Airport District in Mojave, Calif., for an emergency response vehicle $104,805 to the Jacksonville Airport Authority in Florida to develop a Spaceport Master Plan for Cecil Field.
Under the law, the FAA can provide matching funds for specific projects being carried out by public entities involved in commercial space activities. With matching funding, MARS could take advantage of this grant program to improve their launch pads at WFF causing a surge in construction.
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Vehicle and Spacecraft Services Vehicle and Spacecraft processing services require a specialized trained workforce and safety staff. This staff has been trained and certified on site by NASA. The duties comprise hazardous operations including Self Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble (SCAPE) operations.
Table 12
Wallops Vehicle and Spacecraft Services
Mission Workforce Procurements Other Costs Antares Launch 20 Ukranian employees on TDY Small amounts of Crane, Forklifts (Recurring) 20 Orbital Science employees commodities Travel costs Minotaur Launch 10-15 employees on TDY Nothing Significant Unique Crane Services (Recurring) Travel costs ELVs are only produced by a handful of companies worldwide. These companies are typically very large, with a dedicated division that focuses on the manufacturing of the rockets. The facilities involved in building rockets are generally very large with very specialized tooling, equipment, processing lines, etc, not unlike that found in the aircraft manufacturing industry. Once established, these facilities are unlikely to be relocated due to the disruption it would cause to the production as well as the enormous cost associated. The following list identifies some of the most prominent manufacturers of ELVs launched in the U.S., as well as some of the most prominent manufacturers of liquid and solid rocket propellant. Rocket Manufacturers Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) is one of the leading launch vehicle manufacturers with over 2,000 employees. Their headquarters is located in Hawthorne, California and their Rocket development facility is located in McGregor, Texas. They also have other offices in Houston, Texas, Chantilly, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. SpaceX is best known for their Falcon series of liquid fueled launch vehicles that utilize rocket grade kerosene (RP-1) and LOX. The Falcon 1 is a two stage rocket powered by a single SpaceX Merlin engine on the first stage and a single SpaceX Kestrel engine on the second. The Falcon 9 is a two stage rocket powered only by the Merlin engines. This configuration utilizes 9 engines on the first stage and a single engine on the second stage. The latest launch vehicle from SpaceX is the Falcon Heavy. The Falcon Heavy configuration is based on the Falcon 9 launch vehicle with two additional first stage Falcon 9 engines attached to the sides to act as boosters.
Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC or Orbital) is a launch vehicle contractor with many different headquarters around the country. Their launch systems group is based out of Chandler, Arizona, and their advanced programs/space systems building is in Gilbert, Arizona. Orbital supports 5 major launch vehicles: Taurus, Antares, Minotaur I, Minotaur IV, and Minotaur V. The Taurus Rocket is a solid-fuel rocket powered by propellant by an Alliant Tech Systems (ATK) Castor 120 first stage, Orion-50 second and third stage and Orion-38 4th stage. Antares is a two stage
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rocket, using a liquid fueled first stage (RP-1 and LOX) which powers two Aerojet AJ-26 engines. The second stage utilizes an ATK Castor 30B solid motor. The Minotaur family of rockets are powered by decommissioned military motors as the lower stages (Minuteman II and Peacekeeper), while the upper stages consist of either ATK Orion or STAR series of solid motors. Orbital also launches the air-launched Pegasus ELV. The Pegasus is carried aloft under the belly of a modified L-1011 carrier aircraft to approximately 40,000 feet. The extra altitude and velocity provided by the aircraft (considered stage “0”), combined with the flexibility of being launched almost anywhere in the world makes this small ELV very attractive.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Lockheed Martin Space Systems is headquartered in Denver, Colorado with multiple facilities located throughout the U.S. Lockheed operates the Atlas V launch vehicle program. The Atlas V first stage uses a liquid (RP-1 and LOX) fueled Russian build RD-180 motor. The upper stage known as Centaur features a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL10 engine fueled with liquid hydrogen and LOX. The Atlas V is built in a plant outside of Denver, Colorado.
Boeing-Delta IV Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a multi-billion dollar business with over 59,000 employees. This division of Boeing is based out of Berkeley, Missouri. The company is best known for their launch vehicle known as the “Delta IV.” The Delta IV is a two stage rocket propelled by liquid hydrogen and LOX in the first stage and expanded fuel and oxidizer in the second stage. The first stage of the rocket has a Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne RS-68 engine, and the second stage has a Pratt and Whitney RL10B-2 Engine. The Delta IV is built in Alabama.
Yuzhnoye Yuzhnoye is an aerospace technology company based out of the Ukraine. Their main headquarters is located in Dniepropetrovsk, Ukraine. They are known for their part in the production of the first stage of the Antares launch vehicle. This first stage is powered by two Russian-built engines named AJ26 after Aerojet Corporation.
Propellant Manufacturers Haltermann Solutions Haltermann Solutions is a company that makes various fuels for many different corporations. They also take custom orders to create a new fuel for someone in order to suit their needs. The company is based out of Houston, Texas, and they are valuable to NASA because of their RP-1 rocket propellant. RP-1 Propellant is used with LOX as the oxidizer, and is more stable than other forms of propellant. It is safe to store at room temperature and is far less of an explosive hazard. It is also one of the less costly rocket propellant solutions.
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Alliant Techsystems (ATK) Alliant Tech Systems is a huge corporation with over 6,000 employees. Their headquarters is located in Hopkins, Minnesota. They are a well-known contractor and distributer of solid rocket fuels. The solid rocket boosters are made in their rocket motor production facility in Magna, Utah, which is not too far from their composite structures production facility in Clearfield, Utah.
Aerojet Rocketdyne Aerojet Rocketdyne is a contractor who works for companies like Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and the Air Force. They are headquartered in Sacramento, California, and they are known for their missile propulsion manufacturing. This company was formed in 2013 when Aerojet and Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne merged.
Space Propulsion Group, Inc. Space Propulsion Group, Inc. (SPG) is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operates with a philosophy to reduce cost, reduce environmental impact, and increase safety of propulsion and power generation systems through the development of innovative technologies (green propulsion). SPG believes that propulsion drives the cost of access to space and that complexity generally drives propulsion system cost. They strive to lower the cost, failure rate, and barriers to entry by developing propulsion systems with reduced complexity and increased reliability. SPG systems are characterized by mechanical and chemical simplicity, fewer subsystems, ease of manufacture, and lower environmental impact. One of SPG’s missions is to help enable the use of ammonia as a fuel by developing technologies to burn it efficiently and cleanly in the existing gas turbine power generation systems.
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3.5.2 Indirect Industry This section presents the major industries that are indirectly influenced by space port and launch range activity. Indirect industries consist primarily of services for the staff that provide the direct support, as well as services that enable the direct support staff. In other words, where direct industries are the services performing work within the gates of the spaceport, indirect industries are all the services outside the gates, ranging from schools and churches to entertainment and medical facilities. It also includes all the industries that exist based on the large population of technical and professional workers centered on spaceports. Indirect industries are grouped into the following categories: Entertainment, Tourism, Manufacturing and Construction, Personnel Support, Transportation Infrastructure, Business Support, Education, and Government. Entertainment The entertainment industry re-evolved out of the industrial revolution. As people were required to work less and enjoyed a little more disposable income, the entertainment industry arose to consume their extra time and money. Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but the reality is that people nowadays are working many more hours, but expect to be entertained on a grander scale during their off time. It is considered by many workers a benefit of the long hours to have the money to feed their entertainment appetite. Between 2000 and 2008, the percentage of income spent on entertainment in the U.S. increased 15%, and the overall entertainment industry grew 66% from 1998 to 2010 (Masnick & Ho, 2012). Entertainment industry is divided into two groups based on the participation level. One group is spectator events, where the majority of participants only watch. The other group is special facilities, where the participants are more directly involved in the activity. Table 13 identifies types of entertainment events and facilities, and cites some examples in the region surrounding WFF.
Table 13
Entertainment Events and Facilities
Spectator Events Special Facilities Sports Shore Birds Stadium Zoos Salisbury Zoo Music/Concerts Wicomico Civic Center Museums Ward Wildlife Museum Movies Regal 16 Cinemas Theme Parks Theater Center for Performing Arts Amusement Parks Ocean City Rides Auto Racing U.S. 13 Dragway Casinos, Gambling Ocean Downs
The Tri-County region may find a growth opportunity by opening more museums (such as an Air/Space Museum), or by attracting a theme park to the area (also perhaps space- related). While the entertainment industry will not likely grow based on Wallops growth, it is likely that an improved entertainment industry base will bring more business towards the Wallops region.
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Tourism Tourism answers humankind’s constant drive to explore, even if it has already been discovered. Tourism is a special industry that grows based on what already exists so long as there is something interesting that people want to come see. For the purposes of this study, Table 14 shows the tourism industry broken into three categories that are directly applicable to the Tri- County Region. Recreational tourism brings in tourists interested in taking advantage of activities specific to the area, such as golfing or beach/waterfront activities. Eco-Tourism caters to individuals interested in learning about or taking advantage of the local ecosystem, such as hunting and fishing, camping, boating, and general exploring of regional rivers, wetlands, forests, etc. Space-tourism reaches out to those interested in learning about space-related activities, to include sending tourists into space. While most of the tourism industry is low- paying, it still generates large cash-flow into regions. The U.S. Space Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama brings in 500k visitors a year, each paying a $25 admission, plus souvenirs and associated meals, fuel and lodging. In addition, a real opportunity does exist for them to pursue the “go to space” type of tourism that can bring high-tech jobs (such as with Virgin Galactic, etc.).
Table 14
Tri-County Tourism
Category and Example Regional Examples
Recreation Golf Nutters Crossing, Great Hope, 15 others Beach Activities Ocean City (8 million visitors/year), Assateague Eco-Tourism Hunting/Fishing Marlin Fishing Tournaments, Deer hunting (~$1.5B) Nature Observing Assateague, etc. Camping, Boating Numerous Space-Tourism NASA Visitor Center Bare-bones, free-of-charge facility Launch Observation Bare-bones viewing areas for launches (Antares, LADEE) “Space Camp” Virginia Space Flight Academy Orbital Tourism N/A
Increasing Recreation and Eco-Tourism opportunities may help bring in more Wallops- focused business by enticing the staff that would relocate. The Tri-County region may find a growth opportunity by enhancing the amenities of the NASA Visitor Center, improving the launch observation viewing areas (or creating new ones).
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We strongly recommend that the Tri County Council interface with Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts to begin looking at developing a visitor center on par with that at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
According to the Maryland DBED, “with larger rockets being launched from Wallops/MARS, there is growing interest cultivating tourists to view launches. Tourism officials from Maryland and Virginia are jointly working on strategies to attract tourists to the area” (Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, 2011), (page 29). However, the Space- Tourism industry surrounding Wallops has not reached its full potential. There is plenty of opportunity for companies to establish a large space-tourism base in the Tri-County region. Business models may include building a robust visitor center with rocket park and simulator rides (similar to the KSC Visitor Center), provide guided tours of the facilities of Wallops, establish a full-scale Space Camp (similar to the program in Huntsville), or establish “rocket camps” for rocketry enthusiasts to build and launch small rockets. Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts attractions management team operates the KSC Visitor Complex in Florida. From the Apollo/Saturn V Center to the authentic Shuttle Launch Experience and the Astronaut Training Experience (ATX®), this one-of-a-kind North American vacation destination immerses guests in the exciting world of space exploration, travel, technology, science and the heroes who got us there. Coming in July 2013: A $100 million exhibit showcasing Space Shuttle Atlantis. (Delaware North Companies, Inc., 2012) This multi-million dollar expansion is an immediate surge of funds into the local economy during the construction, and will drive an increase in tourism, keeping KSC the premier space launch site, despite the fact that no rockets have launched since 2011. This is a lost opportunity for Wallops and the local economy. To expand the tourism reach, companies could establish satellite locations in Ocean City and even across the bay comprised of a small visitor center/ticket booth for tour-bus trips to the Wallops Visitor Center and back. Tourist-focused advertising of the space-based industry on the Eastern Shore is also lacking. Signs in the Salisbury Airport should showcase Wallops. Signs touting “Welcome to Space Country” should line the highways, as they do along Florida’s space coast (this is akin to the viticulture sign on U.S. 13 on the Virginia side of the border). As the space tourism industry grows, it would increase the demands of other support industries, such as lodging and restaurants. There is tremendous growth opportunity in the Tri-County region to take advantage of the increasing space activities with a robust space-tourism industry. Government and commercial entities should examine and invest in this opportunity.
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In addition to bringing in the tourist industry and the tourists that come with it, there is also potential to grow the orbital tourism industry. This is a little different than the bus tours and museum type of industry in that it actually sends the tourists into space. Companies such as Virgin Galactic, XCOR Aerospace, and Space Adventures are preparing to begin sending tourists into space on suborbital flights on single-stage-to-orbit spacecraft that take off from runways. These flights are very expensive, in the $100k-$200k region, and only last a couple hours. Current locations being proposed for these adventures are Spaceport America in Upham, New Mexico, Spaceport Sweden, and Spaceport Curaçao. The challenge with these flights is that aside from the time in space, there are very few space-related amenities at the launch site. While a trip to Sweden or Curaçao is enticing, a trip to New Mexico may not be. An opportunity exists in the Wallops area that offers an advantage over these other sites; before and after the suborbital flight, the orbital tourists could take advantage of other “to-be-built” space amenities such as a new visitor center, rocket park, tours, observe a rocket launch, etc. Improving the space-tourism base for the general population may bring a whole new fleet of commercial space launch vehicles to Wallops and a steady stream of tourists with a lot of money. Along these lines, there may be additional growth potential to examine the relationship between Wallops and the Salisbury Airport. The airport may be better suited to serve as the launch site for these suborbital flights, but partnerships with NASA and the future tourist industry will grow the overall region into more of a spacefaring region. Additionally, these sub-orbital flights may be ideal for some NASA science, so there may be potential for a partnership to contract with the flight companies to provide dedicated flights, anchoring the business.
The space activities already taking place at Wallops may serve as an anchor for future orbital tourism, whether the flights depart from Wallops or the Salisbury Airport. This type of tourism, sustained by contract flights with NASA will have significant economic impact from the company and staff conducting the flights as well as the stimulus of funds from wealthy tourists.
Accomack County voted in late 2012 to spend $8 million (borrowing $4 million and obtaining the remainder through grants) to improve the site infrastructure (water, sewer, roads, and a taxiway) of the future Wallops Research Park (Messier, 2012). The intent is to provide a staging area for commercial entities to establish themselves just outside of Wallops’ gates, but with direct access to the range resources. The main selling point of this research park is the direct access to Wallops runways. Aircraft manufacturing and development companies could take advantage of this (both manned and UAS), and commercial space launch could also use this space to their advantage. Orbital Sciences Corporation could expand their local capabilities by building a facility to stage their Pegasus ELV and the modified L-1011 carrier aircraft, as well as a spacecraft processing facility. Manned spaceflights could also originate from this research park if innovators such as Virgin Galactic open up a facility for their aircraft/spacecraft and a passenger terminal. Virgin Galactic is already dedicated to launching out of New Mexico’s Spaceport America, but a second location on Maryland’s “Space Coast” could be attractive to the company; New Mexico most likely offered some great incentives to win Virgin’s business. Virgin Galactic is also developing an unmanned air-launched ELV.
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The planned Wallops Research Park could host Orbital Sciences’ Pegasus or Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, both currently a missed opportunity.
Figure 11. Virgin Galactic’s Spaceport America and SpaceShipTwo. Image courtesy Virgin Galactic.
Other space related business may be enticed to a local business park, but the nearby cities of Pocomoke and Princess Anne could also be lucrative locations to establish business parks geared towards the aerospace industry. These locations could be ideal for electronics companies to establish a regional shop that could be both a point of sale and local repair site. Manufacturing and Construction As indirect industry grows, it will create opportunities in the manufacturing, construction, and maintenance fields (direct industry also creates similar opportunities). These fields include small-scale manufacturing such as boats, electronics, and hardware, all types of construction businesses including ground work, plumbing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, electric, and architect firms, and building/grounds maintenance businesses including landscaping, property management, etc. Small increases in indirect industry will not likely create a high demand for additional construction, manufacturing or maintenance companies, but the right amount of continued growth will maintain their stability. Major spurs in the indirect industry like relocating new businesses to the region, improving transportation infrastructure, establishing new tourism venues, etc. will drive the need for increased construction and maintenance. For instance, a new business relocating 150 employees may drive construction of several new housing developments. Once established, local demand will stress existing services and drive new medical facilities, retail facilities, even schools. For example, 150 employees could bring in up to 150 more working spouses and potentially 300+ school-age kids. The new construction presents opportunities, and the businesses involved in construction and maintenance would benefit by collaborating with economic development teams to bring in more indirect industry. Products manufactured for use in the aerospace industry, particularly those used in commercial space launch, fall into three categories: the spacecraft, the launch vehicle, and the range systems. The spacecraft are all built at specially designed facilities that produce spacecraft for various customers that will launch them from any of the different U.S. or foreign launch ranges. Smaller spacecraft, such as CubeSats, nano-sats and pico-sats are often built at
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universities as experiments or technology demonstrators. Spacecraft manufacturing does not need to be located near the launch site. Launch vehicles are produced in assembly lines in large specially designed manufacturing facilities. These facilities are often centrally located between the various customers and launch sites. Yuzhnoye has a facility in Ukraine that produces the Zenit rocket, Antares rocket, Cyclone and Cosmos rockets, and various missiles for customers and launch sites all over the world. Boeing has a plant in Alabama that builds the Delta IV that gets barged to either the WR or ER. Lockheed has a plant in Colorado that builds the Atlas V which is flown to the ER or WR. Range Systems, which consist of items ranging from antennas to computers and high- speed cameras to large capacity data processors/recorders, are built by a wide array of vendors all over the U.S. Civil servant and contractors at Wallops procure these systems following government regulations and weighing factors such as lead time, cost, quality, track record, compatibility with existing systems, commonality with other ranges, etc. Of these systems, here is a list of vendors and their current location. Wallops organizations do a large amount of business with these firms, and it may be advantageous for them to either relocate to the Eastern Shore or establish an office. Table 15 identifies the Range Systems companies that Wallops tends to do a large amount of business with. Other companies offering these systems may find an opportunity to establish local offices to work with Wallops’ future system’s needs. There is also strong growth opportunity to relocate or establish regional offices for these existing suppliers to provide point- of-sales service, consulting, engineering, testing, and other related services.
Table 15
Range Systems companies frequented by Wallops Company Name Business Type Current Location Sypris Data Systems DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS Littleton, CA 80122 Ulyssix Technologies, Inc. BIT SYNCS Frederick, MD 21703 Wideband Systems, Inc. TELEMETRY EQUIPMENT Silver Spring, MD 20910 WV Communications, Inc. COMMAND EQUIPMENT Newbury Park, CA 91320 Zodiac Data Systems, Inc DATA RECORDING SYSTEMS Alpharetta, GA 30009 L-3 Communications Telemetry - TELEMETRY EQUIPMENT San Diego, CA 92123 West GDP Space Systems TELEMETRY EQUIPMENT Horsham, PA 19044-2294 NetAquire Corporation DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS Kirkland, WA 98034 Telemetry & Communications TELEMETRY EQUIPMENT Chatsworth, CA 91311 Systems
Table 16 is a consolidated listing of all the major business types that Wallops does business with. Companies in these areas may be able to establish a local foothold.
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Table 16
Selected Range Systems Companies 3D PRINTING AC DC POWER AERIAL MAPPING AIR FILTRATION AIR SUPPLIES GIS SERVICES SERVICES PRESSURIZATION SYSTEMS AIRCRAFT CABLE AMPS ANTENNA AUDIO EQUIPMENT AUTOMATION SYNTHESIZERS EQUIPMENT SYSTEMS AUTOMOTIVE AV SYSTEMS AVIATION PARTS BANNER DISPLAYS BIT SYNCS PARTS/EQUIPMEN DISTRIBUTOR T BUSINESS BUSINESS CABLE CALIBRATION CAMERA/AUDIO/ ANALYTIC COMMUNICATI DISTRIBUTION SERVICES VIDEO SOFTWARE ON EQUIPMENT SYSTEM/SUPPLIES DISTRIBUTORS CASE CATV CHART RECORDERS CHEMICAL COUNTERS CIRCUIT BOARDS MANUFACTURING BROADBAND ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT SUPPLIES CLEAN ROOM COLD COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATION COMPUTER SUPPLIES WEATHER WORK SUPPLIES CABLING HARDWARE/SOFTW GEAR INSTALLATION/EQUIP ARE MENT CONFIGURATION CRANE SAFETY CRANE SLINGS CRYOGENIC SERVICES DATA ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT TRAINING SYSTEMS SYSTEM DATA DATA DATA VOICE DIGITAL MEDIA ELECTRICAL MANAGEMENT RECORDING SECURITY DISTRIBUTOR SUPPLIES SERVICES SYSTEMS SERVICES/ SUPPLIES ELECTROMAGNET ELECTRONIC ELECTRONIC ELECTRONIC QUIPMENT RENTAL IC COMPONENTS CALIBRATION COMPONENTS DISTRIBUTOR SERVICES ESD EQUIPMENT FACILITY FIRE PREVENTION FORKLIFT SERVICES GEOGRAPHICAL EQUIPMENT/SU MAPPING PPLIES SOFTWARE GLOBAL GRAPHIC GROUND STATION HEALTH-SAFETY HEATING AIR POSITIONING DESIGNS NETWORK EQUIPMENT SERVICES SURVEYS SERVICES
HEATSHRINK HIGH SPEED INDUSTRIAL LABORATORY LAMINATING SUPPLIES CAMERAS SUPPLIES EQUIPMENT SUPPLIES MARINE RADAR MASS FLOW MEASUREMENT METAL FABRICATORS MICROWAVE MEASURMENT EQUIPMENT CALIBRATION MICROWAVE MICROWAVE NETWORK NITROGEN/ INERT OFFICE COPY COMPONENTS RADIO TELECOMMUNICATI COMMODITIES HARDWARE AND EQUIPMENT ONS SUPPLIES SUPPLIES OFFICE SUPPLIES OFFSITE OFFSITE POWER OXYGEN MONITORS PELICAN CASES CRANE SOLUTIONS RENTAL PRINTING DESIGN RF TELECOMMUNICATI TIME MANAGEMENT TOOLS HARDWARE SERVICES COMMUNICATI ON PRODUCTS EQUIPMENT ON EQUIPMENT
TOUCH SCREEN TOWER WEATHER WIRELESS CONSOLES CLIMBING BALLONS COMMUNICATION REPAIR EQUIPMENT SERVICES
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All indirect vendors may be located outside the 1 hour circle of Wallops since the products can be shipped. Under the current concept of operations, all launch vehicle direct industry may also be located outside the 1 hour circle since their plants are centrally located for their operations.
All prime contractors providing Direct Industry need to be within the Wallops gates, or just outside the gate.
Indirect support services are in the best position if within 30 minutes of Wallops
All indirect support that works at Wallops should reside within an hour of Wallops.
Figure 12. This graphic illustrates the proximity of the local supply chain.
Traditionally, there is very little aerospace manufacturing centered near launch ranges. Manufacturing and launching activities require a different environment which is generally exclusive. Manufacturing typically requires an industrial complex usually centered on transportation nodes, whereas launching is typically located away from populated areas for safety purposes. In fact, the VCSFA Strategic Plan specifically identifies MARS’ distance from populated areas as a strength (Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, 2012). This is the case for all four U.S. launch sites at the ER, WR, Kodiak, and Wallops. This is also true for international launching activities; the busiest spaceport in the world is located hundreds of miles for manufacturing centers in the Kazakh desert. There is a general misperception that an increased launch operations tempo equates to growth. The reality of the situation is that Wallops is already established to conduct commercial space launches, additional launches does not directly equate to growth, unless new customers have requirements that the existing structure does not meet (such as Antares’ need for downrange tracking at Bermuda). According to the Greater Salisbury Committee, creating MARS was a major stepping-stone in bringing in more space launch business and related firms (Stopping the 'Brain Drain'). While the construction of new facilities constituted short-term growth, the reality is that no new space launch business or related firms have relocated or sprung up in the local area. The primary customer of MARS is the Antares Program, but the vehicle is built elsewhere and the launch team deploys to Wallops for launch activities. As explained in section 3.5.1, the existing
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operations staff did grow slightly to support some of the extra support required for Antares such as downrange tracking and spacecraft fueling. This growth was primarily new-hire staff for existing companies.
Figure 13. Sample economic contributions of launch range to local economy. Aerospace and high-tech manufacturing is absent from the landscape of all launch range local economies. (Alaska Aerospace Corporation, 2011)
Personnel Support Personnel support is a driving force in bringing staff to the Wallops area, either to fill openings or to relocate entire organizations. WFF faces a major challenge with employee retention of relocated new-hires. The challenge is not with retaining the employee; retaining the employee’s family is more challenging. This is for two reasons: spousal employment and personnel support. Since Wallops is in such a rural area, there are not a lot of job opportunities for the spouses of relocated new-hires. This can put a lot of family stress on the Wallops employee and often results in the employee leaving Wallops in search of employment in metro areas. In addition to limited spousal employment opportunities, families are often frustrated with the decreased quality and quantity of services, especially if relocating from a metropolitan area. The quality of the services available is not bad, but the overall level of service is mid-range. There appears to be a large number of small local businesses, but a very small number of large, high end, or chain businesses.
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Case study As a prime example of attracting new staff, one of the authors of this report relocated to Wallops from California. The first thing that came to his spouse’s mind when notified of the job opportunity was, “What shopping will I have?” Like it or not, many Americans base the quality of future hometowns on whether or not there is a Whole Foods Market, Starbucks Coffee, and IKEA furniture. In order to retain high tech employees, their “off-duty” needs must be met locally. As the local population increases, even in small numbers, due to growth of direct or indirect industry related to Wallops’ ELV and UAS activities, there will be an increased demand for service industries, including health care (hospitals, clinics, doctors, dentists, and specialized care), child care, food (grocery and restaurants), retail (fuel, vehicles, household items, clothing, specialty), financial (banks), religious (churches), and temporary lodging (hotels/motels, bed & breakfast, rentals).
Personnel support outside the Wallops gate is lacking. Restaurants, child care, coffee shops, and hotels are in high demand. Roughly 1600 personnel work at Wallops and on average there are 100 visiting workers. In addition, if the quantity and quality of personnel support services were increased in the urban areas of the Tri County area, it would create growth opportunities for relocating businesses to be near Wallops.
Transportation Infrastructure Direct and indirect industries need to be able to get people and materials to the local area. This is currently done via the road, rail, air, and water transportation systems. Any large increase in industry of the local area will strain the local transportation infrastructure. This could be a roadblock in bringing in new business, or could reduce the effectiveness of established business through side effects such as traffic congestion or roadway damage. While growth will spur the need for improved infrastructure, there is a great opportunity that by improving it first will draw more businesses to the local area. Widening local roadways and highways and increasing the number of lanes, eliminating overhead wires along and across streets, extending rail service into industrial areas, extending airport runways and expanding the airport terminal, and increasing the number of river terminals would benefit the local economy three ways. The improvements will provide work to local companies, the finished improvements will increase the quality of life of local residents and businesses, and marketing the improvements will bring in business to take advantage of the increased capacity.
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Business Support As businesses grow and as industries expand, there will be an ever-increasing demand for business support. Services such as vehicle sales, fleet management, special vehicles, administrative support, office supplies, print services, temporary agency staff, and office space rental will continue to grow.
A growth opportunity exists for business incubators by building specialized facilities designed for spaceport industries (hangers, processing facilities, cleanrooms, etc.) or by building a business park offering temporary agency services, printing/copying services, shipping services, IT services, meeting space, rental office space, and restaurants/shops.
VCSFA Strategic Plan identifies Wallops Research Park as an opportunity for commercial space companies to conduct operations at MARS (Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, 2012). These commercial space companies may establish offices at the Business Park or may take advantage of other ancillary businesses located in the park. The park could especially serve as a business incubator for up-and-coming rocket companies, such as Ventions, LLC. Ventions, LLC is a research, development and services company that was founded in 2004 to commercialize innovative technologies in the aerospace sector. They have successfully built and tested a brand new liquid-fueled rocket. They have an office in Washington, DC and San Francisco, California but conducted their latest tests at Wallops. This type of company could take advantage of an office space co-located with Wallops. Table 17 lists some of the companies that serve Wallops and could be persuaded to open a regional office.
Table 17
Range Systems companies frequented by Wallops Company Name Business Type Current Location Sypris Data Systems DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS Littleton, CA 80122 Ulyssix Technologies, Inc. BIT SYNCS Frederick, MD 21703 Wideband Systems, Inc. TELEMETRY EQUIPMENT Silver Spring, MD 20910 WV Communications, Inc. COMMAND EQUIPMENT Newbury Park, CA 91320 Zodiac Data Systems, Inc DATA RECORDING SYSTEMS Alpharetta, GA 30009 L-3 Communications Telemetry - TELEMETRY EQUIPMENT San Diego, CA 92123 West GDP Space Systems TELEMETRY EQUIPMENT Horsham, PA 19044-2294 NetAquire Corporation DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS Kirkland, WA 98034 Telemetry & Communications TELEMETRY EQUIPMENT Chatsworth, CA 91311 Systems
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Education This section explains the education needs of Wallops and some opportunities that may lead to growth. Current Situation in Education The workforce of Wallops is almost evenly split between degreed engineering, science, and management professionals and highly-skilled trade professionals. Approximately 50% of the contractor and civil servant workforce employed at Wallops (~800/1600) requires 4-year technical degrees (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related, but primarily engineering), as well as some management and financial degrees. Our team estimates that the workforce supporting Wallops from outside the gates is also representative of the 50/50 split between degreed and skilled trade professionals. The Greater Salisbury Committee recognized that there is a “brain drain” drawing local bright and educated students and professionals away from the Eastern Shore (Stopping the 'Brain Drain'). Part of this drain was the lack of a local accredited engineering program that would produce degreed engineers and turn them out into the local economy. The other part of this drain is due to the low number of engineering positions within the local economy. Of the degreed positions at Wallops, the majority of them require Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering degrees. Not many local applicants meet these requirements, making these positions challenging to fill. University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) provides a general engineering program currently working towards ABET accreditation. Salisbury University (SU) provides a Physics Degree which is applicable to the electronics work that is completed at Wallops and a Math degree which is applicable to the Software Engineering work. SU also provides a Decision Information Systems degree useful at Wallops for information technology focused jobs. While SU and UMES provide some STEM coursework that is applicable, they do not directly fulfill the requirements for many of Wallops’ engineering positions, so many of the engineers are relocated from outside the local area, or companies are forced to put people who do not have the best qualifications into engineer positions. The non-degreed positions are primarily technical, and require previous experience and training on radar, telemetry and communications systems. Many require a two-year associates degree in STEM subjects, including Engineering Technology, Electronics, and Information Technology. In the absence of highly educated or trained local workforce, Wallops employers tend to focus on hiring staff that have previous aerospace experience or related military experience, typically relocating them to the area.
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Growth Opportunities in Education: Primary Education The focus on STEM is strong in the Tri-County school districts; however there is an overwhelming lack of student participation with Wallops. NASA supports and conducts hundreds of tours each year, but over the last year, not a single Wicomico, Somerset or Worcester county school visited Wallops. Instead, many schools took expensive and long-distance “science-related” field trips to national museums and Six-Flags. The tri counties should increase student awareness and interest of opportunities at Wallops, beginning with summer internships available to high school students, and continued employment opportunities.
A growth opportunity exists to grow future Wallops-related aerospace industry by improving local student interest and awareness of NASA, Wallops, and the aerospace field by incorporating field trips and activities into the curriculum of 1st through 12th graders. Teacher In-Service Days could be used to take large groups of Tri-County teachers (STEM and non-STEM subjects) to Wallops to tour the facility, make contacts, and have a better understanding of space launch that could be worked into their curriculums.
Vocational / Trade School These schools provide pertinent technician skills to the local workforce. Eastern Shore Community College provides some of the key electronics training to Wallops staff, but there is an opportunity for the Tri-County region to develop an aerospace technician program at WorWic Community College that would produce technical staff trained in fields of aviation, electronics, mechanics, antennas, high-pressure systems, and maintenance, all with a primary aerospace focus. Graduates would have skills applicable to airport operations, as well as launch range operations, and could apply them directly to those locations or to the support industries that serve them. Creating a program like this would reduce the “brain drain.”
A growth opportunity exists to reintroduce an aerospace training program similar to the UAS Maintenance Program that was developed to retrain dislocated workers, which was sponsored by the Lower Shore Workforce Alliance. As long as the training program works closely with Wallops and related industry, the right number of staff could be trained and placed locally to meet growing demands.
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Secondary Education Continue to work with SU and UMES to establish a robust Engineering Program. There is an opportunity to grow aerospace business on the Eastern Shore by bringing Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) to the area. The nearest locations of its worldwide campus are at Oceana Naval Air Station near Norfolk and at Andrews AFB near Washington, DC. SU, UMES, or even WorWic Community College could team with Wallops and ERAU to establish a program at one of the campuses to produce small batches of aerospace-degreed workers (Associates, Bachelors, and Masters degrees), that could go straight into the local workforce.
Team with Embry Riddle Aeronautical University to bring an appropriate level of aerospace training and education to the Eastern Shore to lure aerospace industry.
Post-Grad Education SU offers a Master’s in Business Administration, but Wallops and the related space launch industry manages its work as projects; degreed project managers are constantly being sought. Many schools offer the degree, but not to the local workforce. If SU established a Project Management Program with a Masters of Project Management degree, in conjunction with improved engineering programs at the regional schools, it would create upward mobility for employees as they completed coursework in residence. A stronger relationship can still be forged between SU and Wallops with regard to science and engineering programs as well as management programs.
A stronger relationship can still be forged between Salisbury University and Wallops with regard to science and engineer programs as well as management programs.
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4 Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Industry 4.1 Provide Critical Context This section describes Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in an effort to help understand the industry, facilities, workforce, and infrastructure necessary to support UAS activities. This section also identifies the potential missions supported by UAS platforms
UAS comprise a rapidly growing portion of the military, civil and commercial marketspace. At times, Congress has encouraged the development of such systems; in other instances, it has attempted to rein in or better organize these efforts. Unmanned aircraft are commonly called UAVs, and when combined with ground control stations and data links, these are considered UAS.
In 2012, the federal government tasked the FAA to determine how to integrate UAS into the National Air Space (NAS). In this research, the team showed the Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International estimates of the economic impact of this integration into the national airspace. In the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FMRA), Congress tasked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with integrating unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), sometimes referred to as unmanned aerial vehicles or drones, into the National Airspace System by September 2015. As part of that effort, Congress directed the FAA to establish six test ranges to serve as integration pilot projects. On February 22, 2013, the FAA issued a notice in the Federal Register announcing the process for selection of the sites and a request for public comment on its “proposed approach for addressing the privacy questions raised by the public and Congress with regard to the operation of unmanned aircraft systems within the test site program.” In the event that these regulations are delayed or not enacted, this study also estimates the jobs and financial opportunity lost to the economy because of this inaction.
Congress passed into law a requirement for the FAA to implement UAS into the U.S. airspace. This legislation paves the way for commercial UAS activities to begin in the NAS by 2015. The key market segments are precision agriculture, law enforcement, first responders, and NOAA or NASA science applications.
While there are multiple uses for UAS in the NAS, this research concludes that precision agriculture, scientific testing, and public safety are the most promising commercial and civil markets. These markets are thought to comprise approximately 90% of the known potential markets for UAS. The LJT team researched various primary and secondary sources from prominent UAS experts. In March 2013, the AUVSI published “The Economic Impact of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the United States”. Highlights from this report are summarized below. These numbers are for the entire United States, but if Maryland postures itself strategically with Wallops (and other local airports), then the Tri-County region could expect to capture a percentage of this growth.
The economic impact of the integration of UAS into the NAS will total more than $13.6 billion in the first three years of integration and will grow sustainably for the foreseeable
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future, cumulating to more than $82.1 billion between 2015 and 2025 (Jenkins & Dr. Bijan Vasigh, 2013);
Integration into the NAS will create more than 34,000 manufacturing jobs and more than 70,000 new jobs in the first three years (Jenkins & Dr. Bijan Vasigh, 2013);
By 2025, total job creation is estimated at 103,776 (Jenkins & Dr. Bijan Vasigh, 2013);
The manufacturing jobs created will be high paying (greater than $40,000 annual salary) and a majority require technical 4-year degrees (Jenkins & Dr. Bijan Vasigh, 2013);
Much of the UAS T&E is being conducted in the government and commercial sector. The vast majority of commercial UAS T&E has the U.S. government as the end user or client. Because of this relationship, most of commercial T&E is conducted on federal property but overseen by the contractor/developer.
Table 18
Areas of UAS Industry Opportunity UAS Radar NextGen Incorporation of UAS into the National Airspace Research Small UAS Detection Radar, Sense-and-Avoid Radar Low-Power Passive Radar (stealth) Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Weather Radar Airport Surveillance Radar UAS Free-Space Optics for UAS Communication Communications RF, Including Bandwidth Satellite Communications UAS Aeronautics Aerodynamics, Including vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAS Flight Dynamics and Aeroelasticity Design/Fabrication/Flight Testing Semi- and Fully Autonomous Flight Payload Delivery Systems UAS Propulsion Long-Endurance Hybrid UAV Propulsion systems Battery-Powered Helicopters Fuel efficient turbo jet and reciprocating engines UAS Acoustics High Transmission Loss Structures Acoustic Liner Technology Internal Combustion Engine Noise Control Propeller Noise Control Vehicle Noise Control UAS Structures Morphing Aircraft Unconventional Configurations, Including Biologically Inspired Micro Aerial Vehicles UAS Payloads Chemical Nano Electromechanical Infrared, Electro Optical SAR, LIDAR/LADAR Acoustic
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Cyber Security System Security and Validation Physical Systems Security, RF/Wireless Communication Security Data Encryption Training Crew Engineering Maintenance Research Aqua Wildlife Wave science/ electric Agriculture Air testing
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Figure 14.Economic growth potential for Maryland UAS. (Jenkins & Dr. Bijan Vasigh, 2013)
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Figure 15. Comparison between states of economic impact potential. Maryland is highlighted; it is not one of the top ten states to gain the most; these projections are based on current UAS activity and infrastructure, indicating Maryland is behind. (Jenkins & Dr. Bijan Vasigh, 2013)
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4.2 Identify Other UAV/UAS Competing Locations
This section presents Wallops’ competition in the UAS field.
Many privately held UAS ranges exist throughout the nation; however, most do not have robust enough Special Use Airspace (SUA) for UAS distance and extended range T&E. Flight from these facilities are accommodated through use of a Certificate of Authorization. The vast majority of these facilities operations are FAA limited to just a few miles from launch/recovery area and at low altitudes. Many privately held facilities or commercially run UAS T&E is in support of not only military applications for system or payload, but also in establishing technology for advancement in non-DOD applications. Non DOD uses for UAS include, but are not limited to: Geo-mapping, agriculture & conservation, wild fire detection, real estate, construction, utility/railroads, maritime and shipping, media, etc.
The most in-depth T&E is facilitated through the DOD or other federal organizations where associated warning areas and restricted airspace is available to accommodate UAS without an established and formal airworthiness certificate. Some of these presently existing facilities include Webster Field Navy Annex, Maryland; Patuxent River NAS, Maryland; China Lake NAWS, California; Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona; Creech AFB, Nevada; Edwards AFB, California; Cannon AFB, New Mexico; Holloman AFB, New Mexico; and Fargo, North Dakota. There are more than sixty UAS bases in the country; however, the vast majority of them only host small to mid-sized UAS systems.
Patuxent Naval Air Station Test & Evaluation Activities
Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NAS Pax River) will continue to utilize its Restricted Airspace to test numerous current, and future, aircraft. It is believed that the work at NAS Pax River will continue at its present pace, and in fact will likely increase as the U.S. government develops new systems and looks for ways to extend the life of its current systems.
Major manned fixed wing work in the immediate future includes FA-18E/F/G systems development and envelope expansion. Especially noteworthy is the development of the Next Generation Jammer which will be awarded sometime early this year and will be carried on the FA-18G. Other developments include E-2 modernization efforts, P-8 development and envelope expansion, and Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) work. The JSF will make up the bulk of the manned fixed wing fighter work for the next five to ten years, as the U.S. government builds, develops and produces three distinct versions of the aircraft. All are intended for domestic U.S. use, and a considerable world-wide market is expected.
The F-35A is a land-based aircraft and is intended to fill U.S. Air Force Strike Fighter requirements and other domestic runway-launched aircraft needs. The F-35B is the U.S. Marine Corps version, and will have a short take-off and landing capability, useful off smaller ships (non-aircraft carrier) and land bases with restricted runway length. The F-35C will be the U.S. Navy version, and will be capable of carrier catapult launches and arrested landings. All three versions will carry weapons, both conventional bombs (smart and dumb) and propelled weapons (missiles, rockets, guns, etc.). NAS Pax River will fly and test the aircraft and associated
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systems, and will test weapons carriage - testing of actual weapons deployment (dropping/firing the weapons) will be conducted at NAS China Lake, California and NAS Point Mugu, California.
Helicopter work will continue on H-60, H-53 and other U.S. Navy/Marine Corps rotary aircraft as it is being done today, and as systems improvements and enhancements are introduced they will be tested in NAS Pax River restricted airspace. Work on the V-22 Tilt Rotor aircraft will continue, both in envelope expansion and systems modernization.
In the unmanned world, NAS Pax River anticipates increased testing as the use of these vehicles grows. Major work is planned for the testing of Broad Area Maritime System (BAMS), which includes the air vehicle (Triton) and its associated Ground Control Station. The Triton is a sea- specific derivative of the Global Hawk which is being tested now under the Global Hawk Demonstration Program. This aircraft will fly at high altitude (operations will normally occur at 40,000 feet and above) and will be used for information gathering to ensure the safe operation of our sea forces.
Wallops can team with Patuxent River NAS to support NAVY UAS operations. There is an opportunity for MD to assist with the relocation of the BAMSD program to WFF. The parties from the USN and NASA have met several times, and there is an opportunity for the state to be involved in assisting with this. This would be a great national security asset at Wallops and deliver many economic drivers to the area, including driving the establishment of the Wallops Research Park.
Also undergoing increased testing will be the Fire Scout, a rotor craft to be used by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, both from ship and from land. This vehicle will be weaponized, and like the manned aircraft, NAS Pax River will test weapons carriage while actual weapons work will be mainly done at NAS China Lake and NAS Point Mugu, California. Fire X, a derivative of the Fire Scout which is intended to be larger with greater range and weapons/sensors carriage capabilities, will begin testing in earnest in 2013 and will continue for several years.
Scan Eagle and Integrator, both small Unmanned Systems which are designed to operate from ship and shore will continue testing. Integrator will be primarily used by the U.S. Marine Corps and will be weaponized. These vehicles are small, and have endurance expectations of 16 plus hours. It is anticipated that the non-weaponized Scan Eagle systems will see widespread use both in the international market and domestic law-enforcement areas as well.
In 2013 the U.S. Navy intends to award a contract for the development and production of an FA- 18 size unmanned vehicle to be operated from Aircraft Carriers, the Unmanned Carrier- Launched Airborne Sensor and Strike system (UCLASS). It is anticipated these aircraft will be a major development effort and will begin flying in the NAS Pax River airspace within five or six years. The test program will involve aircraft envelope expansion, systems development and test, and weaponization development and test. This system is planned to enter into the U.S. Navy Combat forces in the 2020 timeframe.
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NAS Pax River is currently operating at over 100% capacity for its buildings and infrastructure and has actually had to lease space off the government property to house its employees. A new arrangement involving Public-Private partnerships is being carefully looked at to assist in building new facilities and updating current ones in order to bring all government employees within the secure confines of the existing property. These efforts are in the late stages of investigation and a decision is expected soon on the way forward.
Currently, U.S. Navy Patuxent River Air Station is home to several UAS units providing integrated warfare systems and lifecycle support through research, development, testing and evaluation, acquisition, engineering and fleet support for manned and unmanned aircraft, engines, avionics, aircraft support systems and ship/shore/air operations. Current programs include: X-47 Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D), MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned helicopter is undergoing developmental and operational testing, MQ-4C Broad area Maritime Surveillance Demonstrator (BAMS-D) and BAMS; Tier 2 UAS also play an important role with platforms such as Shadow and Scan Eagle.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems Operations Validation Program (USOVP)
Air Force Lead, the USOVP project will provide the DOD and its federal agency partners with the ability to conduct testing for lower-priority UAS programs in DOD restricted airspace and the NAS. In addition, USOVP will develop and validate T&E processes and procedures for a variety of on-board flight systems that support UAS-enabling technologies.
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INTERNAL
WFF Strengths WFF Weakness
Culture of Safety High cost structure High SME population Multi-level UAS Safety Process Successful record of accomplishing Lack of local UAS higher education highly difficult technical projects. Local NASA culture accepting UAS as a Access to vast Special Use Airspace core discipline. Extensive infrastructure and network Lack of restricted airspace corridor to
Tier I, II, and III UAS range experience PAX River. NEGATIVE
POSITIVE
WFF Opportunity WFF Threat
FAA Test Site Other Gov. organizations with robust NAVY hosting for BAMS, BAMSD, UCAS, pre-existing UAS facilities & programs fire scout (PAX satellite) Funding Commercial and DOD hosting for training Outside political pressure UAS, all categories. UAS payload testing and development
UAS platform R&D, T&E
EXTERNAL
Figure 16. WFF Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) Analysis for UAS T&E
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INTERNAL
W41 Strengths W41 Weakness Centrally located to Restricted Airspace (R-4006) Lack of local public support. 50% of airport traffic area is located Remote location over water. Lack of local UAS higher Ideal proximity to support NASA WFF education and Navy Patuxent River. Minimal existing structures.
Minimal encroachment NEGATIVE Runways are suitable for multi-level
POSITIVE UAS.
W41 Opportunity W41 Threat
FAA Test Site satellite Other Gov. Organizations with NAVY hosting for fire scout and UAS robust pre-existing UAS facilities 55lbs or less. (PAX/NASA satellite) and programs Commercial and DOD hosting for Funding training UAS, all categories. Outside political pressure UAS payload testing & development Possibility of local residents UAS platform R&D, T&E fighting the inception of UAS
operations.
EXTERNAL
Figure 17. Crisfield, Maryland Airport (W41) Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) Analysis for UAS T&E
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INTERNAL
2W6 Strengths 2W6 Weakness
Centrally located to Restricted High volume of population Airspace (R-4007) encroachment Located 8 miles from NHK Patuxent Possible air traffic encroachment Naval Air station. with PAX. Ideal proximity to support NASA WFF UAS would have to fly 10 miles prior (with corridor) and Navy Patuxent to operations over water.
River. Proximity to Wash DC no fly area. NEGATIVE
Large volume of UAS experts locally
POSITIVE
2W6 Opportunity 2W6 Threat
FAA Test Site satellite Other Gov. Organizations with NAVY hosting for fire scout and UAS robust pre-existing UAS facilities 55lbs or less. (PAX/NASA satellite) and programs Commercial and DOD hosting for Funding training UAS, all categories. Outside political pressure UAS payload testing & development Possibility of local residents UAS platform R&D, T&E fighting the inception of UAS
operations.
EXTERNAL
Figure 18. Saint Mary’s Airport, Maryland (2W6) Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) Analysis for UAS T&E
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Another competing location that has established itself in UAS training and operations in 2006 is The University of North Dakota (UND) named as a DOD Center of Excellence (COE) for UAV education, now called the center for UAS Research, Education and Training. UND researchers teaming in the center for UAS Research, Education and Training represent the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, the School of Engineering and Mines, the Northern Plains Center for Behavioral Research, and the Center for Innovation. The center for UAS Research, Education and Training designation provided a vehicle for convenient collaboration with Grand Forks AFB and the Fargo Air National Guard, two recently designated UAV bases. UND has also been invited to collaborate in UAV research and development with several private sector partners including Lockheed Martin, Frasca International, Inc., and Alion Science and Technology. In addition, UND Aerospace was already collaborating with the FAA COE for General Aviation Research on integrating UAVs into the national airspace system, and with Mayo Clinic for a Flight Medicine Residency incorporating UAV training (About the Center for UAS Research, Education and Testing, 2013). WFF, with local educational support, can rival the UND aviation and UAS operations. Like UND, WFF has vast warning airspace and restricted airspace over unpopulated areas (the ocean). WFF has the ability to conduct land and sea Intelligence Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR). Like UND, Wallops has the infrastructure and engineering background to support payload testing/development, training, platform testing/development, systems integration, and environmental research. 4.3 Prospective Test and Evaluation Clients and Opportunities This section recommendations specific clients and opportunities to bring to Wallops
Business creation would result from an affordable venue to fly. The advantages of WFF are location and easy access to SUA. NASA business development could result from a piecemeal approach by having multiple user organizations and/or having large organizations conducting multiple operations on a large scale. NASA infrastructure and the surrounding community have the ability to support both.
Wallops provides easy access to Special Use Airspace. This will allow for ease of operations of UAS in the Wallops restricted areas. A growth opportunity exists to offer UAS organizations easy access to airspace from Wallops.
Location of UAS research and development (R&D), T&E, Crew Training, and standard maritime operations is driven by cost and value. As with any organization, users want the highest value at the lowest cost. The placement of UAS business is driven primarily by dollar per flight hour with airspace value added. UAS range users are primarily funded by federal contracts or are internal to a federal organization.
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4.4 Specific UAS Growth Opportunities This section explains where growth can be expected if there was an increase in activity at Wallops, as well as what areas should be “grown” in order to increase activity at Wallops.
Organizations that would be most suited for WFF include those with platforms 55lbs or less for island operations and large platforms for the main base. Many private sector companies have been utilizing facilities in the western U.S. due to the vast amount of SUA; however, some of the facilities are extremely remote and warrant logistics, industrial support, and lodging challenges. Having such vast amounts of SUA in close proximity to Wallops is a key advantage for any user wanting to fly east of the Mississippi River. For this reason alone, all organizations that utilize UAS are suited to fly here. WFF has the infrastructure and assets to accommodate all levels of UAS. The multi UAS range approach can further assist multiple UAS operations at once.
Wallops can support Tier 1, 2, and 3 UAS operations. The facility has a proven capability to support up to class 4 (Global Hawk) operations. This is an incredible growth opportunity as Wallops can support any type of new UAS business, from major DOD programs down to university level test programs.
4.4.1 Infrastructure Investments This section explains infrastructure investments necessary to bring more of the UAS industry to the Tri-Country Region. Manufacturing
A robust UAS operational presence at WFF would result in more jobs and organizations relocating to the Wallops area. Many of the companies that would be using the WFF UAS ranges may want to relocate to this area due to the natural tendency of reducing their logistics and time gap line. When Wallops is designated as one of the UAS test sites you will see an influx of requirements for facilities such as the Wallops research park. The ability to HUB and SPOKE operations at wallops is a real advantage. For example, take company A, located on the beltway in Maryland, which cannot fly its UAS anywhere and is looking to establish at Wallops. The ability to have a small footprint at the WRP or locally in Maryland is a great advantage to the company during its operational flight times. There is a shortage of commercial industrial facilities located near the Wallops facility, so TCC would need to work with the UAS companies to define the finite requirements.
Supply
Logistics is aided by highways that extend North and South. Washington DC is about three hours north and Norfolk is about two hours south by car.
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Support services
Many small business machine shops and other support services are in the local area. These businesses can assist in the fabrication of tools and parts for UAS manufacturing companies. A light industrial aerospace support infrastructure is preexisting to the area
Logistics supply chains are close to Wallops for UAS manufacturing. If you look at standard shipping times the area is an easy 1 day delivery area.
Salisbury, Princess Anne, Pocomoke which are located in Maryland and towns in Virginia have preexisting business parks that conduct manufacturing, warehousing, and other services. These facilities can play an important role supporting UAS logistics, warehousing, and administrative duties for the UAS industry. Many of these centers currently service the rocket industry and have skill sets very similar to the UAS industry. Within logistical supply distance of Wallops are fiber and composite manufacturers, wire harness manufacturing facilities, and many other UAS manufacturing material type providers.
An example of organic Maryland growth would be a company called UAV Solutions, this company is expanding rapidly and looking at Wallops as a main test site. There is a current opportunity to have such a company put a small footprint on the shore as they prepare for the UAS test site selection. This would tie nicely into the planned program that Sentinel Robotic Solutions has been working with Wor-Wic community college to look at the feasibility of conducting UAS familiarization courses at the college. One such program was underway with the TCC and seemed to have mixed success. Another example is an out of state company, called ADAPTIVE FLIGHT. This Georgia Tech spin off is leading the way in many aspects of flight control autopilots and software. They are located in Marietta, Georgia and have several small rotary UAS products. They would be interested in relocating if the opportunity were right to come to the shore. The shore offers lower rate capital costs for them and easier access to Capitol Hill and the market segment of DOD, NASA, and the commercial opportunities. 4.5 Educational and Workforce Considerations This section explains the education requirements for those in the UAS industry, and what the TCC should do to increase the number of qualified candidates for new positions. The Lower Shore Workforce Alliance has conducted retraining and formal courses for dislocated workers in the form of UAS Technician classes. This pilot program proved somewhat successful. UMES has an all-inclusive Aviation Sciences program. Areas of study include Piloting of manned aircraft, Air Traffic Control, UAS Sciences, and engineering. There needs to be a sweeping funded education program for UAS across the TCC region. Only now are folks realizing that this emerging industry is vibrant, positive, and accelerating. The great thing about the industry is it spins off into so many other skill sets of autonomy that folks trained in these disciplines will fit into almost any technical category both on the Rocket side of the equation and the UAS piece. The involvement of STEM/UAS in the K-12 area is also
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extremely important and should be singled out in this report. Associations such as the AUVSI Foundation, FIRST and others are critical to the building blocks of our workforce development locally. Involvement in K-12 areas also has a secondary effect attracting middle aged professionals to the area with children when a strong academic program is in place. Strategically, alliances need to be formed not only in state but interstate to grasp the invented programs that already exist. TCC does not need to re-invent the wheel; it needs to strategically put together a plan identifying its SWOT analysis and then move to relationships that bring reciprocal benefit to both entities. TCC should not limit these opportunities to inter school activities. TCC should be looking to expand relationships with the federal community in the area for collaborative projects. In Huntsville, Alabama, for example, they are closely affiliated with the Redstone Arsenal and have bred success of generations of families and businesses embedded locally in high tech jobs.
Education schools Wallops has several schools of higher education in the area, but they are not currently geared towards developing the workforce necessary for the UAS industry. UMES and ESCC are making some progress: UMES in Princess Anne has an Aviation-focused engineering and piloting training program leading to a bachelor’s degree. This is the right track, but UAS is much more than just aviation and just piloting. The UAS workforce needs to be training in payloads, sensors, remote control systems, command and control systems, ground support systems, etc. Eastern Shore Community College is investigating in a curriculum that may lead to an AAS in UAS Operations and Science. While it is outside of the Tri-Counties Region, this may be something the TCC should get engaged with in order to improve the overall UAS growth potential in the Virginia/Maryland Eastern Shore. There is an ideal opportunity to establish a University of North Dakota (UND) Campus for flight training locally in Maryland. UMES has the right baseline credentials for such a program, and an airfield such as in Crisfield, Maryland close by to conduct decongested flight training.
A strong growth potential exists by partnering local schools of higher education, particularly UMES or SU, with the University of North Dakota or Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). Both of these schools are recognized leaders in aviation, aerospace, and UAS fields, offering associates through doctorate degrees in the subjects. They are ideal to partner with since they have a very strong distance learning program, ERAU having remote campuses all over the world. Joint programs would bring the research and development to the region, as well as educating the local workforce.
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5 Other Potential Activity not related to Launch or UAS. This section describes other industries and mission areas that represent growth areas at Wallops that could spur local/regional economic development 5.1 Sounding Rocket Activity The NASA sounding rocket program is the anchor customer and prime mission for Wallops. WFF could not exist in its current state without the sounding rocket program. There would not be enough ELV, UAS, or other tenant customer business to maintain the facilities and workforce at their current levels. In its current state, the capacity of the local facilities, infrastructure, and personnel match the available funding. Unless additional funding is made available, there is little opportunity for expansion. There are small rocket corporations developing sounding rocket scale launch vehicles capable of placing micro and nano satellites into orbit. These corporations are trying to capture the university market that design and develop these satellites. The vast majority of these university manufactured satellites never actually make it to space. These corporations aim to develop launch vehicles capable of putting these satellites into space at a cost point achievable by the universities. WFF has conducted scientific sounding rocket launches and range operations all over the globe. While Wallops Island, Virginia, is the prime location for Range services, major sounding rocket campaigns have recently been supported at Poker Flat, Alaska; Andoya, Norway; Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, HI, White Sands, New Mexico,and Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands. The map shown in Figure 19 identifies many of the locations where the Sounding Rocket and Range Programs have operated, as well as locations of operations planned for the near future.
Figure 19. Recent and planned deployments to conduct range and launch operations for scientific sounding rockets.
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Launches from these various locations can be supported by the Wallops Mobile Range Instrumentation System (i.e., radar, telemetry receiving, and commanding, with its own mobile power system). These assets are used as needed to supplement instrumentation at existing ranges, or to establish a temporary Range to ensure safety and collect data to support the rocket customers in a remote location where no other Range instrumentation exists. 5.2 Navy Activity The Naval Sea Systems Command Surface Combat Systems Center (SCSC) is located at the NASA WFF. The SCSC is staffed by approximately 90 military, 58 civilian employees, and more than 250 contractors. The SCSC provide live integrated warfare systems in a maritime environment for fleet operations, testing, evaluation, training, research, and development. The SCSC is like many military detachments on non-military facilities in the fact that there is always the possibility of closure due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). These military detachments must constantly innovate to validate their primary role and strengthen the argument attesting to the government's best interest not to relocate the unit. WFF and Navy management work closely to achieve these two objectives. Some of the innovations recently announced or being evaluated are as follows: Field Carrier Landing Program (FCLP), which is an ongoing certification program for Navy pilots prior to their deployment to an aircraft carrier. The program paints markings on the runway to mimic a carrier deck and the pilots practice day and nighttime landings. Navy Rail Gun Test Bed. New weapons development that requires range support for testing, in conjunction with the fleet systems at SCSC. Both of these two initiatives may drive growth at Wallops. There have already been some minor increases in labor and infrastructure to WFF.
Figure 20. The Navy will train it's E-2 crews at Wallops before deploying them to the fleet as part of the FCLP.
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5.3 MDA Test Launch Activity The MDA is a research, development, and acquisition agency within the DOD. The MDA's mission is to develop, test, and field an integrated, layered, ballistic missile defense system to defend the U.S., its deployed forces, allies, and friends against all ranges of enemy ballistic missiles in all phases of flight. The MDA conducts target missile launch operations across the U.S. to test a variety of defense systems. WFF supports MDA testing, specifically launching target vehicles for fleet exercises in the Atlantic. There is the potential to increase the frequency of this testing, which could drive increases to range support staff and possibly systems. At other test ranges, MDA has funded the expansion of range facilities and staff to provide dedicated service to their missions
Figure 21. Launch of MDA Target Vehicle from Wallops.
. 5.4 Commercial Aircraft Testing As a Research Airport, Wallops has the necessary facilities and infrastructure to conduct scientific research, it is also well-established to support tests of all types of aerospace vehicles, one of which being commercial aviation. Historically, Wallops has supported different types of ground-based aircraft tests and certifications, such as high speed taxi and engine water ingestion. With the ability to control all the traffic on the runways, Wallops is an ideal place to conduct aircraft testing.
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6 Appendix A: Select UAS Company Profiles
UAV Solutions
UAV Solutions Inc. is an ISO 9001:2008 certified Woman Owned Small Business located in the Baltimore/Washington corridor whose core competencies are the rapid, innovative design, engineering, sub-assembly, manufacturing and comprehensive testing of complete Unmanned Systems. Staff provides extensive professional support for custom composite layup, wire harness manufacturing, circuit board modification and conformal coating, circuit board manufacturing, vehicle or ground assembly integration, logistics, training, and flight services.
AAI TEXTRON
AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems has designed, manufactured and fielded combat-proven unmanned aircraft systems for more than 25 years. AAI's multi-mission capable unmanned aircraft and interoperable command and control technologies provide critical situational awareness and actionable intelligence for users worldwide. Its Australia-based strategic business, Aerosonde Pty Ltd, is a manufacturer of small unmanned aircraft systems. AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems is an operating unit of Textron Systems
NAVMAR
Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation is a 500+ employee Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business specializing in professional engineering services. For over 30 years the Navmar team has been engaged in strategic and responsive efforts to assist the DOD deliver and maintain the highest quality of products and services to our warfighters.
NEANY
NEANY Inc. has quickly grown from a small, start-up company to a significant force in the federal contracting arena. Certified as an 8(a) company in 2005 and ranked third in the nation for 8(a) contractors in 2011 and 2012, NEANY supports the government and private industries in areas including UAS, ground control systems, ground-based sensor integration, prototype fabrication, UAS pilot training, field deployment and logistics. Headquartered in Hollywood, MD, NEANY is a minority owned research, design, T&E engineering firm supporting numerous UAS efforts including Persistent Ground Surveillance Systems (PGSS), High-Performance Engagement Lightweight Integrated Optical System (HELIOS), Persistent Surveillance Unmanned Aerial System (PSUAS), TigerShark, Copperhead, and their flagship UAS, the Arrow.
AIRTEC
Airtec, Inc. is a small business that has been providing airborne support for the DOD and NASA since 1987. Based at the St. Mary’s County Airport, Airtec operates a variety of jet, turbo-prop, fixed and rotary-winged aircraft that provide maritime radar and visual range surveillance, airborne communications relay and drone control, airborne telemetry collection and relay, and
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versatile airborne platforms for the development and testing of military and commercial sensor systems. Staff includes pilots, engineers, and technicians experienced with the design, evaluation, integration, and operation of various airborne sensors and complex ISR systems to include maritime surveillance radars, EO/IR, signals relay, and versatile communications systems. Flexible, autonomous, and deployable assets form the foundation of their capabilities.
Sierra Nevada Corporation
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is a progressive, full-service defense electronics engineering, manufacturing, and aircraft modification enterprise experienced in research, development, production, and engineering support. They are a flexible, privately-held, woman owned business with a solid reputation as an agile, innovative, and responsive International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2000 and AS9100C certified systems integrator. SNC’s approach to meeting the future requirements as a prime contractor in support of NASA leverages almost 10 years of world class integration on a wide variety of DOD, Department of Homeland Security, Commercial and International customer’s aircraft systems.
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7 Appendix B: Select ELV Industry Company Profiles
Launch Service Providers Orbital Sciences Corporation Orbital Sciences Corporation is an ELV manufacturer of small- and medium-class space and rocket systems. Orbital employees 3,800 employees and carries a long-term contract backlog of approximately $5.2 billion. The corporation was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Dulles, Virginia with major operations also in Arizona, Maryland, and California. Orbital is the prime manufacturer of the Pegasus, Minotaur, Taurus, and Antares family of rockets.
Space Exploration Technologies Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX, is a space transport company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by former PayPal entrepreneur Elon Musk. It has developed the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles, both of which were designed from conception to eventually become reusable. SpaceX also developed the Dragon spacecraft to be flown into orbit by the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, initially transporting cargo and later planned to carry humans.
United Launch Alliance Formed in December 2006, ULA is a 50-50 joint venture owned by Lockheed Martin and The Boeing Company. It provides space launch services for the U.S. government including NASA, the Department of Defense, and the National Reconnaissance Office. It has three families of launch vehicles – Atlas V, Delta II, and Delta IV. ULA program management, engineering, test, and mission support functions are headquartered in Denver, Colo. Manufacturing, assembly and integration operations are located at Decatur, Ala., and Harlingen, Texas. Launch operations are located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic is a company within Richard Branson's Virgin Group planning to provide sub- orbital spaceflights to space tourists, suborbital launches for space science missions, and orbital launches of small satellites. Virgin Galactic's spacecraft is launched from a large aeroplane, giving the spacecraft more initial speed and altitude than if it were launched from the ground. Virigin Galactic has a contract with Spaceport America in New Mexico for launch operations.
Armadillo Aerospace Armadillo Aerospace is an aerospace startup company based in Mesquite, Texas. Its initial goal is to build a manned suborbital spacecraft capable of space tourism, but it has stated long-term ambitions of orbital spaceflight. The company was founded by John Carmack. Armadillo Aerospace is conducting testing of its launch vehicles at Spaceport America.
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Bigelow Aerospace Bigelow Aerospace is a North Las Vegas, Nevada space technology startup company that is pioneering work on expandable space station modules. Bigelow Aerospace was founded by Robert Bigelow in 1998.
Range Services Contractors Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) is an American multinational corporation that provides information technology (IT) services and professional services. Headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, USA. The Company also licenses software systems including SaaS offerings for the financial services, healthcare and other industry-specific markets and provides a broad array of end-to-end business solutions that meet the needs of large commercial and government clients.
Lockheed Martin Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 118,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. Lockheed Martin is led by Marillyn A. Hewson. The majority of Lockheed Martin's business is with the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. federal government agencies.
Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth- largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010. Northrop Grumman employs over 75,000 people worldwide. Its 2010 annual revenue is reported at US$28 billion. Northrop Grumman ranks No. 72 on the 2011 Fortune 500 list of America's largest corporations and ranks in the top ten military-friendly employers. It has its headquarters in West Falls Church, Virginia.
VT Group VT Group was a British defense and services company. The Company had diversified from shipbuilding into various engineering and support services, becoming involved in many areas of provision through five main operating groups: VT Communications, VT Education and Skills, VT Services and VT Support Services. VT Group finally exited the Shipbuilding industry in October 2009. The company was formed in 1966 by the merger of two shipbuilding companies.
URS URS Corporation is an engineering, design and construction firm and a U.S. federal government contractor. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, URS is a full-service, global organization with offices located in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific.
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LJT LJT & Associates, Inc. is a premier aerospace engineering services company delivering space and ground range services, cyberspace services, systems engineering integration, and base facility services to Department of Defense and civil customers. LJT is headquartered in Columbia Maryland.
ITT Exelis ITT Exelis, also known as Exelis Inc., is an aerospace, technology and security company created in October 2011 as a result of the spinoff of ITT Corporation's defense business into an independent, publicly traded company. The company is headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, USA and is led by CEO and President David F. Melcher.
Millennium Engineering Millennium Engineering and Integration Company delivers engineering services and unique hardware/software products. Millennium is an employee-owned small business with systems integration capability for end-to-end mission assurance. Their expertise includes systems engineering and technical analysis, integration and testing, test facility development, test and evaluation, sensor systems, software development, safety and mission assurance, range safety and operations, and program engineering management.
Launch Range Vendors and Suppliers Sypris Data Systems Sypris is a provider of information security solutions for electronic key management, identity authentication, encryption and cyber security for the Department of Defense and intelligence communities for almost 50 years. Sypris provides several pieces of electronic ground support equipment for processing and recording telemetry information from rockets.
Ulyssix Technologies, Inc. Ulyssix provides DSP based communications products to the telemetry and satellite communications marked. It was founded in 1982. They are focused on the development of board level products in the PCI and VME form factors.
Wideband Systems, Inc Wideband Systems designs and manufactures sophisticated recording instruments for the aerospace, communications, and intelligence marketplace. They specialize in custom designed recording systems as well as provide standard, off-the-shelf recording products satisfying a wide range of demanding requirements.
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WV Communications, Inc. WV Communications was established in 1997 by a group of engineering and manufacturing associates. It is involved in the design, development, manufacturing, and system integration of RF and Microwave communication equipment.
Zodiac Data Systems, Inc Zodiac Data Systems was formed in 2006. It develops, manufactures and sells mobile as well as stationary data acquisition and recording systems worldwide. Their products are used in aeronautical, automobile as well as in general industrial applications for recording fundamental data in the development cycle of various products.
L-3 Communications Telemetry West - L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. is an American company that supplies command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C3ISR) systems and products, avionics, ocean products, training devices and services, instrumentation, space, and navigation products. Its customers include the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Government intelligence agencies, NASA, aerospace contractors and commercial telecommunications and wireless customers. L-3 is headquartered in Murray Hill, Manhattan, New York City.
GDP Space Systems GDP Space Systems, a division of Delta Information Systems, is a supplier of aerospace telemetry products and systems. GDP products are in use worldwide at satellite ground terminals, telemetry ranges, and testing facilities.
NetAquire Corporation NetAcquire Corporation provides real-time distributed data acquisition, control, and communications solutions to companies worldwide. NetAcquire products are advanced network- based data acquisition and control devices. Each NetAcquire system acts as a gateway between the analog, digital, and serial "real world" and the network world.
Telemetry & Communications Systems Founded in 1999, TCS is employee owned. They provide solutions for flight test, rankge, launch support, flight termination, and satellite ground support applications.
AirTec Airtec is an aviation and technology integration company that specializes in maritime radar surveillance, range safety, and airborne telemetry. They maintain a fleet consisting of three twin- turboprop King Air aircraft as well as other fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. The fleet is specially modified for long-range, accurate and results driven missions and testing.
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8 Appendix C: References About the Center for UAS Research, Education and Testing. (2013). Retrieved January 2013, from UND Aerospace: http://www.uasresearch.com/aboutus/Default.aspx Alaska Aerospace Corporation. (2011). A Diversified, Sustainable Aerospace Industry for Alaska: Strategic Plan 2011-2016. Bunch, S. (2011). Wallops Island Economic Value Study IMPLAN Simulation Results. BEACON at Salisbury University. Delaware North Companies, Inc. (2012). North American Vacation Destinations. Retrieved from DNC Parks and Resorts: http://www.delawarenorth.com/Parks-and-Resorts-Destinations- North-America.aspx Federal Aviation Administration. (2010). 2010 U.S. Commercial Space Transportation Developments and Concepts: Vehicles, Technologies, and Spaceports. Federal Aviation Administration. (2012). 2012 Commercial Space Transportation Forecasts. Jenkins, D., & Dr. Bijan Vasigh. (2013). The Economic Impact of Unmanned Aircraft SYstems Integration in the United States. Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. (2011). Maryland: The Business of Space Science. Masnick, M., & Ho, M. (2012). The Sky is Rising. Messier, D. (2012, November 12). County Votes to Fund Wallops Research Park. Retrieved May 25, 2013, from Parabolic Arc: http://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/11/12/county-votes-to- fund-wallops-research-park/ NASA Wallops Flight Facility. (2013). Draft Strategic Plan 2013-2020. Geo-San, Inc. Stopping the 'Brain Drain'. (n.d.). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from Greater Salisbury Committee: Citizens Working Together: http://greatersalisbury.org/ Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority. (2012). Strategic Plan 2012 - 2017. Wertz, J. R., & Larson, W. J. (1999). Space Mission Analysis and Design (Third ed.). Torrance, California: Microcosm Press.
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9 Appendix D: Acronyms and Abbreviations
Air Force Base AFB Alaska Aerospace Corporation AAC Alliant Tech Systems ATK Base Realignment and Closure BRAC Broad Area Maritime System BAMS Center of Excellence COE Department of Business and Economic Development DBED Department of Defense DOD Department of Military and Veterans Affairs DMVA Eastern Range ER Embry Riddle Aeronautical University ERAU European Space Agency ESA Expendable Launch Vehicle ELV Federal Aviation Administration FAA Field Carrier Landing Program FCLP Fixed Umbilical Tower FUT Geosynchronous Orbit GSO High-Performance Engagement Lightweight Integrated Optical System HELIOS Intelligence Surveillance, Reconnaissance ISR InterContinental Ballistic Missiles ICBM Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles IRBM International Organization for Standardization ISO International Space Station ISS Inter-Range Instrumentation Group IRIG Joint Strike Fighter JSF Kennedy Space Center KSC Kodiak Launch Complex KLC Liquid Oxygen LOX Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport MARS Missile Defense Agency MDA Mobile Service Tower MST National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA National Air Space NAS National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Naval Air Station Patuxent River NAS Pax River
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Non-Geosynchronous Orbit NGSO Orbital Sciences Corporation OSC/Orbital Persistent Ground Surveillance Systems PGSS Persistent Surveillance Unmanned Aerial System PSUAS Range Control Center RCC Range Safety Office RSO Reagan Test Site RTS Reusable Launch Vehicle RLV Rocket and Space Corporation RSC Salisbury University SU Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics STEM Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble SCAPE Sierra Nevada Corporation SNC Space Exploration Technologies Corporation SpaceX Space Propulsion Group, Inc. SPG Special Use Airspace SUA Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats SWOT Surface Combat Systems Center SCSC Test and Evaluation T&E Tri County Council TCC United States Air Force USAF United States US University of Maryland Eastern Shore UMES University of North Dakota UND Unmanned Aerial System UAS Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems Operations Validation Program USOVP Unmanned Aerial Vehicle UAV Unmanned Carrier- Launched Airborne Sensor and Strike UCLASS Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration UCAS-D Vertical Take-Off and Landing VTOL Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority VCSFA Wallops Flight Facility WFF/Wallops Western Range WR
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