Virginia spaceport poised to grow in the post-shuttle era of spaceflight

When the 30-year space shuttle program ends this summer, NASA will turn to the shores of Virginia and MARS to help fulfill the critical mission of transporting supplies to the International Space Station.

And, of course, taking out the station's trash, too.

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport — or MARS — at NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore is scheduled to be the launch site for nine unmanned missions related to resupplying the space station through 2015, reports The Richmond Times Dispatch with more from Virginia's capitol city.