NASA WALLOPS FLIGHT FACILITY, Va.–The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) here is “probably in as good of shape as it’s ever been” following a $15 million investment and almost a year’s worth of repairs, according to Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VCSFA) Executive Director Dale Nash.
Nash told reporters here December 17 during a tour of the pad that the October 2014 failure of Orbital ATK’s [OA] Antares rocket left a crater about 30 feet deep with a radius of about 25 to 30 feet. Nash said the rocket, which failed shortly after liftoff on a NASA Cargo Resupply Services (CRS) mission, fell to the ground outside the pad, leaving the crater. Nash said VCSFA completed repairs on September 30 and completed all performance tests on new systems November 6.
The launch caused extensive damage to the MARS launch pad, of which Virginia is leasing from NASA as part of a Space Act Agreement (SAA). Nash said two of four lightning towers came down in the failure while VCSFA took the other two down due to blast damage. There was also damage to the concrete structure, Nash said, as well as damage to piping, electrical systems, sensors and electrical wiring. Nash said anything that appeared to have heat or blast damage was replaced.
Nash said a liquid fuel farm came through very well. VCSFA, he said, also made “full modifications” to the launch pad to enable Antares to have more capacity, though he said this plan was already in the works as Orbital ATK wants to eventually move to a new, larger Antares.
Nash said VCSFA modified the subcooler area to provide heated gaseous nitrogen, which he said is a purge used on all payloads or rockets. A hydraulic supply system modification, Nash said, was made to provide hydraulics to the rocket engines on the pad so Orbital ATK can do test and checkout while the rocket is on the ground. Orbital ATK is the only tenant at MARS.
Immediately following the failure, Nash said VCSFA, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) and NASA were near the pad taking air samples and, within a day or two, water and soil samples. Nash said the entities were looking for chlorate in the water or anything from the kerosene fuel used in the AJ-26 engine that powered Antares in the failed mission. Nash said kerosene residuals were primarily found in the ground.
VCSFA still has a few repair items remaining, including repainting the 200,000 gallon water tower that Nash said empties in two minutes. He also said the water tower is the tallest free-standing water tower on the east coast. VCSFA, Nash said, has cut the water tower capacity nearly in half to 110,000 gallons for launches.