Eastern Shore Focus - Show # 75: A Look Inside of NASA / Wallops (Pt. 1)

By WESM News / Stephen Williams

WALLOPS ISLAND, VA –

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Show Information:

Show Number: 75
Guest(s): Keith Koehler, Public Affairs Specialist - NASA WFF
Subject(s): A Look Inside of NASA / Wallops (Part 1)
Original Airdate: Monday, June 8, 2009
Running Time: 29 minutes

Brief Synopsis:

Established in 1945, Wallops is one of the oldest launch sites in the world. At the very heart of its mission, lies a mandate: to provide low-cost, sub-orbital payloads for scientific research . . . offer educational outreach opportunities for area students and universities . . . and help foster the development of the nascent aerospace industry right here on Delmarva, through locally-based commercial space programs - such as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport [MARS].

Wallops is also helping to develop alternative suborbital and orbital crafts, such as sounding rockets, high-altitude balloons, unmanned aircraft and miniature satellites.

For example, on board the Minotaur 1 were two secondary payloads - including a number of miniature CubeSat experiments, developed in cooperation with the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

About a month before the Minotaur 1 rocket eventually launched, I was invited by Keith Koehler, a Public Affairs Specialist at Wallops, to visit the NASA facility on one rainy afternoon in April.

At Wallops, I was able to take a look behind-the-scenes at some of the daily operations going on at Wallops, as well as getting a sneak peak at some of the exciting scientific research and exploration projects underway there.

This is Part One of my tour with Keith, which was recorded on April 14, 2009.

Additional Links & Information:

Eastern Shore Focus - Show # 76: A Look Inside of NASA / Wallops (Part Two):
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wesm/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1518165/

National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA]
Goddard Space Flight Center
Wallops Flight Facility
Wallops Island, VA 23337-5099
Website: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/home/index.html

Watch a video of the Minotaur 1 / Tac-Sat 3 rocket launch (May 19, 2009):

Alternate video of Minotaur 1 / Tac-Sat 3 rocket launch (May 19, 2009):

TacSat-3 Homepage:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/missions/tacsat3.html

Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport [MARS]
Bldg. N-134, NASA/GSFC/WFF
Wallops Island, VA 23337-5009
Telephone (757) 824-2335
Fax (757) 824-2332
Website: http://www.marsspaceport.com/

Hawk Institute for Space Sciences:
P.O. Box 154
1731 Broad St.
Pocomoke City, MD 21851
Telephone: 410-957-2180
Fax: 410-957-2387
E-mail: info-hiss@hawkspace.org
Website: http://www.hawkspace.org/

Questions or Comments?

E-mail us: wesm913@umes.edu
Or call 410-651-8001