gsfc/wallops flight facility 1 nasa/goddard space flight center’s wallops flight facility facility...
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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 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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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