Sen. Warner Steps-Up for Commercial Space

Last week there was a lot of media coverage of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing on the Obama space plan with two Apollo Era astronauts stepping to the witness table for pictures and ink but it was Virginia Senator Mark R. Warner that caught the eye of the NewSpace community with his pro-commercial space comments.

Senator Warner stated, “I do think there’s interesting opportunities to leverage off of things like the X PRIZE Foundation and the kind of energy that that generated in this sector … I think it [commercialization] holds some great possibilities and opportunities, particularly possibilities for Wallops as a facility in the commonwealth of Virginia.”

Wallops (or 'Space Island') is the commercial Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located in Virginia’s Accomack County where Orbital Sciences Corporation will be launching commercial cargo to the International Space Station beginning next year atop a Taurus II booster.

Space advocates throughout Virginia were pleased to see Senator Warner step-up in the committee to provide support to the fledgling commercial space sector taking root on the Delmarva Peninsula. Additional commercial space launch orbital carriers are being welcomed in the Commonwealth of Virginia.