THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 22, 1994 TAG: 9410220264
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES SCHULTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Hopes that Virginia's Eastern Shore would become a center for commercial space development have ebbed in the wake of an Air Force refusal to fund a $1.8 million proposal made by the Center for Commercial Space Infrastructure at Old Dominion University.
The proposal was part of an overall $2.5 million project to rehabilitate a launch pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. A consortium of private businesses and universities in Virginia, Maryland, Florida and California had intended to use the money to create a facility to launch small-to-medium payloads, such as communications and remote sensing satellites.
``It would certainly have been a shot in the arm for the Eastern Shore,'' said James C. Witherspoon, a project manager with the Virginia Department of Economic Development. ``You're talking the two magic things that economic development is all about - capital investment and job creation.''
In addition to the value of the pad refurbishment, Wallops officials calculate that each satellite liftoff would be worth between $1 million and $2 million to the local economy. Up to 12 launches per year were planned.
Wallops is one of only three rocket launch areas in the continental United States, and the only site wholly owned and run by NASA.
Some 14 applicants had sought Air Force funds to develop commercial space ventures. According to ODU officials, 10 apparently made the final cut, including the Old Dominion proposal. But the university wasn't among the eight final selectees, who together received nearly $10 million.
Reasons for the turn-down weren't immediately apparent. Air Force officials couldn't be reached for comment. Laurence Richards, head of the space infrastructure center at ODU, could only speculate that perhaps Wallops was seen as a threat to the Air Force's own space mission.
``The Air Force has been public about their vision of the Air Force as the primary provider, both military and commercial, of access to space,'' he said. ``It's a peacetime mission. Wallops doesn't fit into that role very well. It's competition to what they do in Florida (at Cape Canaveral).''
Richards said that over the summer, rumors began to circulate that ODU's proposal would be denied. So he enlisted heavy political hitters from the Virginia congressional delegation, led by U.S. Rep. Herbert H. Bateman, in whose district Wallops lies.
Bateman sent letters supporting the ODU request directly to the Air Force. The missives, signed by Virginia's two senators and a number of representatives, had no discernible effect.
``I can't make a blatant charge that there was political favoritism,'' Bateman said. ``I have some concerns along those lines. I'd like to ferret out if they (the other proposals) were clearly meritorious to the exclusion of Wallops.''
With Congress out of session and elections approaching, there is no chance of legislative inquiry or action. Nevertheless, discussions between the would-be major players, including California-based aerospace power Lockheed Missiles & Space Company, Inc., will continue, Richards said.
``There's such potential in the development of Wallops as a commercial launch facility,'' said Witherspoon of the economic development department. ``Other channels may be available, other avenues, to make this happen. This whole decision is so fresh that we're still in a regrouping process.'' by CNB