70th Anniversary of the first launch from Nasa’s Wallops Flight Facility
WHEREAS, NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, located on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, is an integral part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Goddard Space Flight Center and home to the Commonwealth’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport; and
WHEREAS, June 27, 1945, marks the date of the first launch from Wallops, and since then, the facility has sent more than 16,000 rockets soaring into space; and
WHEREAS, NASA Wallops played an integral role in the Mercury manned-spaceflight program in the 1950s and 1960s, conducting some of the early tests of the Mercury crew capsule, and continues to support manned spaceflight missions on the International Space Station; and
WHEREAS, the facility launched its first satellite into orbit February 16, 1961, and today serves as one of only four locations nationwide for providing assured access to space for both governmental and commercial interests; and
WHEREAS, Wallops has established a strong record of excellence and success over the decades leading NASA’s sounding rocket, scientific ballooning, and airborne science programs along with operating NASA’s only launch range; and
WHEREAS, Wallops Flight Facility is a model of federal and state government partnering with private industry contributing to Virginia’s strong leadership in our nation’s aerospace program; and
WHEREAS, it is only fitting that on the 70th Anniversary of the first launch, Virginia recognize one of the oldest flight centers in the world and pay tribute to the history that has taken place at Wallops to explore the past, present, and future of space;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Terence R. McAuliffe, do hereby recognize June 27, 2015, as the 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST LAUNCH FROM NASA’S WALLOPS FLIGHT FACILITY in our COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.
