GSFC/Wallops Flight Facility 1 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center’s Wallops Flight Facility Facility...

GSFC/WallopsFlight Facility

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NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center’s

Wallops Flight Facility

Facility & Programmatic

Overview


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Goddard Space Flight Center

•Goddard main campus, (Greenbelt, MD)•Wallops Flight Facility (VA)•Independent Validation & Verification Facility (WVa)•Goddard Institute for Space Studies (NY)•White Sands Ground Station (NM)


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Wallops Flight Facility

Three Major Parcels 6000 Acres

•Wallops Main Base 1900 Acres•Administrative & Technical Offices•Tracking & Data Acquisition•Range Control Center•Ordnance Storage/Processing•R&D, Processing Facilities•Research Airport•Navy Administration/Housing•Coast Guard Housing

•Wallops Island 3000 Acres•Launch Sites•Blockhouses•Radar•Processing Facilities•Dynamic Spin Balance•Navy Operational Facilities

•Wallops Mainland 100 Acres•Tracking & Data Acquisition

•Marshland 1000 Acres


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•Established by National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics in 1945 as test site for aerodynamic research

•Over 16,000 launches conducted during 64 year history

•Wallops mission has evolved to include:

•Flight program management•Technology development•Scientific research

Wallops History


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Wallops Main Base


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Wallops Island


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Wallops Tenants

Goddard/Wallops Flight Facility

Land Owner

Tenants

Naval Air Warfare Center

(Patuxent River)

Mid-AtlanticRegional Spaceport

U. S. Coast Guard NOAA

Navy/Surface Combat Systems Center

BaySys


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Marine Sciences Consortium

• A non-profit educational institution composed of 16 universities

• Over 40 acres containing:– Faculty and students residences– Laboratories classrooms, & machine shop – Cafeteria– Recreational areas

• Owns and operates 3 major marine research vessels– Plus additional smaller vessels

• Supports approximately 1000 graduate and undergraduate students per year


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Wallops Workforce

Percentage of employees residing in area counties

NASA WorkforceTotal=998

245

753

Civil Service

Contractors

Wallops EmploymentTotal=1574

998

76

500

NASA

Navy

NOAA


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Sounding Rocket Program

• Typical mission types:– Space Science research– Technology demonstrations– DoD targets (reimbursable)

• 20-30 missions/year

• Features:– Apogee altitudes >1500 km– Flight times >20 minutes– Spacecraft weights >1300 lbs.– Allows quick response missions (<1 yr.)– 14 launch vehicle configurations– Uses low-cost surplus military rockets– Recovery/re-use of flight hardware

• End-to-end in-house capabilities (design, fabrication. integration, testing, & launch)

• World-wide fixed and mobile launch sites

BlackBrant XII

Typical Spacecraft


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Sounding Rocket Launch Locations

• Fixed Launch Sites– Wallops Research Range– White Sands Missile Range (NM)– Poker Flat Research Range (AK)– Andoya & Svalbard (Norway)– Esrange (Kiruna, Sweden)– Kauai

• Recent Mobile Campaign Sites– Kwajalein– Australia– Puerto Rico– Brazil– Greenland


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Balloon Program

• Primary mission:– Space Science research

• 15-20 missions/year

• Features– Balloon volumes up to 60M cubic ft.– Suspended loads up to 8000 lbs.– Float altitudes of 100K-160K feet– Mission durations of >1 month

• Worldwide mission sites

• Development efforts:– Ultra-Long Duration Balloon– Trajectory control– Planetary balloons

BalloonInflation

BalloonPayload

Balloonat Float


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Balloon Characteristics


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Airborne Science Program

• Piloted aircraft & UAV “flying laboratories” supporting Earth Science research

– Heavy Lift: • Wallops: P-3B

– Contract Aircraft: Twin Otter (others pending)– UAVs: AAI/Aerosonde, BAI Viking

• Research examples:– Atmospheric Chemistry– Climate Change

• Ice cap & beach mapping• Ocean current & biology studies• Coastal Zone Research

– Natural Disasters• Hurricane studies & volcano eruptions

• Aircraft activities– Mission planning – Aircraft operations & maintenance– Aircraft modifications & certification

NASA P-3 (based at WFF)

Twin Otter (contracted)


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Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles

• WFF UAV Activities– Science missions– Operations – Science-enabling technology development

• NASA investigating UAV contribution to science. UAVs offer:– More hazardous flight regimes– Longer duration missions– Potentially lower costs

• AAI/Aerosonde partnership– Demonstrate utility of small UAVs for science– Establish procedures for science projects– Execute science missions

• Numerous other UAV companies such as BAI

Wallops UAV Runway

Aerosonde


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Small Orbital Carriers

•Multi-Payload Ejector (MPE)•Modular carrier allowing multi-spacecraft to be flown on small ELVs•MPE can dispense up to 7 spacecraft weighing up to 400 lbs. + 12 CubeSats

•CubeSats•Management and I&T support of several programs to fly nano-satellites for education, science, & technology

•Hawk Institute for Space Sciences•National Science Foundation

MPE

CubeSats &P-Pod Ejector


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Research activities include:• Atmospheric chemistry• Beach erosion• Arctic ice mapping• Hurricanes• Satellite Altimetry• Biological modeling• Coastal Zone Research

Remote & in-situ instruments flown on aircraft, balloons, & rockets

Worldwide data measurements

Cal/Val instrument support

Laboratories include:• Air-Sea Interaction Facility• Rain-Sea Interaction Facility

Earth Science Research

Laser & RadarAltimetry

Antarctic & GreenlandIce Mapping

Wallops“Wave Tank”

Coastal Zone

Research


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Launch Range

• NASA’s only launch range– Over 16,000 launches conducted since

1945

• Support:– NASA science & technology (primary)– DoD & other gov’t agencies– Commercial industry

• Full suite of support services– Launchers– Processing facilities & logistics– Range safety– Tracking & data services

• Specialized focus:– Suborbital & small orbital launch vehicles– Experimental vehicles & payloads– Responsive & low-cost missions


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Operational Areas

• Wallops operational areas offer nearly unlimited capabilities to conduct hazardous missions– Restricted airspace– Direct access to the Atlantic Ocean

off-shore Warning Areas

• Access to desirable mid-inclination orbits of 38-60 degrees


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Numerous & Diverse Launch Capabilities

20K ARC Rail Launcher

MARS Pad 0B

20K AML LauncherNavy Target Launchers

Orbital Sciences Pegasus

Pad 1 50K Launcher


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• Provides independent mission support at remote sites worldwide

• Typical missions– Sounding rocket science campaigns– WFF ELV downrange support– Mobile ELV and X-vehicle missions

• Recent Campaigns– Kodiak Alaska, Australia, Brazil, Puerto

Rico, Greenland, Kwajalein, Canary Islands

Wallops Mobile Range

Kodiak StarLaunch

Mobile Instrumentation

Greenland Launcher

Puerto Rico Campaign


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Research Airport

• Primary Missions:– Aircraft & airport research– Basing for WFF Earth Science &

transient research aircraft– Support to WFF Launch Range

• 3 main runways + 1 UAV runway– 2 runways >8000 feet– Restricted airspace

• Research Examples– UAV operations– Aircraft & airport safety testing– Aircraft noise measurement– Landing system instrumentation

demonstration

Water Ingestion Testing

Wake Vortex Studies

Aircraft Noise Testing


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Range Usage

ELV Support 1-2

Field Campaigns 1-2

Suborbital-class Rockets 7

Small Rockets 20

Shuttle Launch 1

Orbital Tracks (ISS/STS) 389

UAVs / Drop Models 143

Aircraft Tests 144

Ground System Tests 30

DoD Targets 24

DoD Gun Tests 3

Other Tests 20

Annual Average Utilization Average Annual Usage Events

NASAScience

28%

NASAAeronautics

23%

Non-NASA28%

NASASpace Operations

15%

NASAExploration

6%

Activated restricted airspace 182 days in last year!

Many different missions, many different customers


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Wallops Small Sat Launch History

Past• 3 Minotaur I missions (Wallops)• 9 Pegasus (8 from Wallops)

– 1 mobile from Canary Islands

• 20 Scout missions (Wallops)– Several additional from Kenya

• 1 Conestoga (Wallops)• 1 Athena

– Mobile from Kodiak, AK

Upcoming• 2 DoD missions from Kodiak, AK – 2009/10• ORS-Sat 1 (DoD) - 2010• Taurus II (NASA) – Beginning in 2011• LADEE (NASA) – 5/2012


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Taurus II: Commercial Resupply to the International Space Station

Taurus II Launch Pad Design

Mid-IslandHIF Site

Launch Pad 0A

1.12 Mile Transit (HIF to Launch Mount)

Mid-IslandHIF Site

Launch Pad 0A

1.12 Mile Transit (HIF to Launch Mount)

Taurus II Island Site

Horizontal Integration Facility

GSFC/Wallops Flight Facility 1 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center’s Wallops Flight Facility Facility...

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