Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Launch Pad 0

Launch Pad 0, Pad 0 or LP-0, also known as Launch Complex 0,[1][2] Launch Area 0 or LA-0, is a launch complex at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, Virginia in the United States. MARS is located adjacent to NASA's Wallops Flight Facility (WFF),[1] which ran the launch complex until 2003. WFF continues to provide various support services to MARS launches under contract with the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Launch Pad 0
The LP-0B (left) and LP-0A (center, with the large water tower).
Launch siteMARS (WFF)
Short nameLP-0
OperatorNASA
VCSFA
Total launches18
Launch pad(s)3
LP-0A launch history
StatusActive
Launches12
First launch23 October 1995 (1995-10-23)
Conestoga
Last launch2 November 2019 (2019-11-03)
Antares 230+ (Cygnus NG-12)
Associated
rockets		Conestoga
Antares (active)
LP-0B launch history
StatusActive
Launches6 (+1 suborbital launch that failed)
First launch16 December 2006 (2006-12-16)
Minotaur I
Last launch15 July 2020 (2020-07-16)
Minotaur IV
Associated
rockets
Launch Complex-2 launch history
StatusWaiting for 1st launch
First launchAugust 2020 (planned)
Electron
Associated
rockets		Electron

The launch complex consists of three individual launch pads, LP-0A, LP-0B, and Launch Complex-2.

Launch statistics
1
2
3
4

Chart excludes the only launch of Conestoga from pad 0A in 1995. Chart also excludes the suborbital launch of ALV X-1 on 22 August 2008 from pad 0B.

History

Pad 0A
The Pad 0A with Antares rocket in November 2017, after repairs to the launch pad were completed.
The Pad 0A facilities the day after the October 28, 2014 launch failure.

LP-0A was first built for the failed Conestoga rocket program.[3] The original launch tower was subsequently demolished in September 2008.[4] A new pad facility was built from 2009-2011 for Orbital Sciences Taurus II, now renamed Antares.[5] Pad modifications for Antares included the construction of a Horizontal Integration Facility for launcher/payload mating and a wheeled transporter/erector that will roll out and erect the rocket on its launch pad about 24 hours prior to launch.[5] The first launch of Antares occurred on April 21, 2013.[6]

The pad was reinforced with pilings and features a liquid fueling facility, flame trench, and deluge system for cooling and sound suppression. The pad is capable of supporting a gross liftoff weight of 453.6 metric tons (1,000,000 lb) and can launch payloads of up to 5,035 kilograms (11,100 lb) into low Earth orbit[7]

On October 28, 2014, an Orbital Systems Antares rocket, flying as mission Cygnus CRS Orb-3, crashed 6 seconds after takeoff and appeared to have done significant damage to the launch pad itself. On October 29, 2014, teams of investigators began examining debris at the crash site.[8] By May 2015, estimates had been revised down to around US$13 million. At that time, NASA had committed US$5 million, Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority committed US$3 million and Orbital ATK US$3 million. Repairs were underway and planned to be completed by September 2015, but repairs were only funded up to August with Virginia CSFA requesting that Orbital provide the remaining US$2 million. On September 30, 2015, the spaceport announced repairs on pad 0A had been completed.[9] The launch pad resumed flight operations with the Cygnus CRS OA-5 mission on October 17, 2016.[10]

Pad-0B
The Pad 0B with Minotaur V rocket before launch of LADEE in September 2013.

LP-0B became operational in 1999,[11] and was subsequently upgraded in 2003 with the construction of a mobile service tower, which was completed in 2004.[12] It is active, and is currently used by Minotaur rockets. The first launch from LP-0B was of a Minotaur I in December 2006,[13] and was the first launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.

On October 19, 2017, the now-defunct Vector Space Systems announced plans to conduct three launches from pad 0B with its in-development Vector-R small satellite launch vehicle over the subsequent two years, with an option for 5 additional launches.[14]

Launch Complex-2

In October 2018, Rocket Lab announced that it had selected Mid-Atlantic as its second launch site called, Rocket Lab Launch Complex-2. The new launch pad is near Pad 0A, with the first launch scheduled for August 2020.[15][16][17]The new launch complex will also have an integration facility.[18]

In December 2019, construction was completed and Rocket Lab inaugurated the Launch Complex-2 at Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.[15] In April 2020, Rocket Lab tested an Electron rocket on the pad.[17]

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References
  1. "Commercial Space Transportation License LSO-02-007" (PDF). FAA. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  2. "Facility Access Plan" (PDF). Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS). p. 1.2.2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  3. Wade, Mark. "Wallops Island LA0A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  4. "Launch Tower Demolition". GMB. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  5. Kyle, Ed (2011-05-14). "TaConurus 2". Space Launch Report. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
  6. "NASA Partner Orbital Sciences Test Launches Antares Rocket". NASA. Retrieved 21 April 2013. {{PD-notice}
  7. "MARS Launch Pad 0A" (PDF). Orbital Sciences.
  8. "Teams investigate failure of unmanned rocket off Virginia coast". cnn.com. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  9. "Completion Of Repairs at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Launch Pad 0A". vaspace.org. September 30, 2015.
  10. Graham, William (17 October 2016). "Antares 230 successfully returns with launch of OA-5 Cygnus". nasaspaceflight.com. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  11. "Facilities". Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Archived from the original on October 16, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  12. "Launch Pad 0-B" (PDF). Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  13. Wade, Mark. "Wallops Island LA0B". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2011-11-15. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  14. "Vector to perform first orbital launches from Virginia - SpaceNews.com". SpaceNews.com. 2017-10-24. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
  15. Foust, Jeff (12 December 2019). "Rocket Lab inaugurates U.S. launch site". SpaceNews. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  16. "Rocket Lab | News". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
  17. "Rocket Lab tests Electron on new Virginia launch pad". SpaceNews.com. 2020-04-30. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  18. "Rocket Lab | Our Launch Sites". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
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