WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. - NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore continues to play a major role in the nation’s space program, with a history that stretches back to the final months of World War II.
While many Americans associate rocket launches with Cape Canaveral in Florida, Wallops has been a launch center since June 27, 1945, when the first rockets were sent into the sky from Wallops Island. The launch range was established that year by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the organization that later became NASA, to test guided missiles for the Langley Research Center.
When NASA was created in 1958, the Wallops operation expanded. In 1959, the facility added the former naval air station located about seven miles north of the island, which is now known as the Wallops Main Base.
NASA’s predecessor purchased the entire island in 1949 for just over $93,000, laying the foundation for decades of aerospace research and development.
When NASA was created in 1958, the Wallops operation expanded. In 1959, the facility added the former naval air station located about seven miles north of the island, which is now known as the Wallops Main Base.
The site underwent several name changes through the years before officially becoming the Wallops Flight Facility in 1981.
Wallops was instrumental during the Space Race of the 1960s and supported several animal test flights that helped pave the way for human spaceflight.
Now, the facility serves as NASA’s primary location for launching suborbital and small orbital rockets. According to NASA, more than 16,000 launches have taken place from Wallops, making it one of the busiest rocket launch sites in the world.
