Search Wallops

Go

About Wallops

Text Size

Wallops Vision and Mission
 

Flying Rocket In October 2002, the NASA Administrator approved the Wallops Strategic Implementation Plan, Wallops Mission 2005 (PDF). This plan provided the roadmap that has guided the priorities for Wallops personnel and facilities for more than five years.

Recently, Wallops assessed Mission 2005 against the current NASA and external environments and found that the overall Vision and Mission Elements remain valid and should remain the Wallops priorities for the future. Minor updates to specific focus areas have been made, building on recent accomplishments, incorporating support for NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration, and reflecting changes to environments. The Vision and three key Mission Elements are:

Vision

Wallops Flight Facility will be a national resource for enabling low-cost aerospace-based science and technology research.

Mission Elements

  • Enable scientific research through the development and deployment of low-cost, highly capable suborbital and orbital research carriers, project management, and mission services.
  • Enable aerospace technology advances supporting NASA’s Science, Exploration Systems, and Aeronautics Mission Directorates, through advanced technology development, testing, and operational support.
  • Enable education, the commercial development of space, and other innovative partnerships by leveraging Wallops’ unique capabilities and expertise to collaborate with industry, academia, and other government agencies.

Specific Wallops focuses for the future within these Mission Elements are described below.

Enabling Scientific Research

  • Manage and implement NASA’s suborbital science research carriers programs that provide sounding rockets, balloons, piloted aircraft, unmanned aerial systems, and future carriers to NASA researchers.
  • Develop small, low-cost, & responsive orbital carriers and spacecraft supporting NASA science objectives.
  • Evolve Wallops research carriers to support planetary research, such as planetary ballooning.
  • Conduct Earth Science research, with a focus on global climate change and the unique dynamics of the coastal zone environment.
  • Conduct science mission launch operations both locally and worldwide, leveraging the unique capabilities of the Wallops Research Range and Mobile Range.
  • Partner with GSFC/Greenbelt and other NASA Centers to develop and launch small lunar robotic spacecraft.

Enabling Aerospace Technology

  • Serve as NASA’s premiere site for demonstrating critical Science, Exploration and Aeronautics technologies through use of the Wallops Research Range and in-house flight hardware development labs.
  • Develop advanced technologies that support Wallops research carriers and mission operations, as well as other NASA priorities, in order to improve capabilities, increase safety, and lower costs.

Enable Education, Commercial Development of Space, and Other Innovative Partnerships

  • Provide low-cost, hands-on training experiences using Wallops research carriers and Launch Range, supporting NASA priorities of workforce and science researcher development, and of exciting the next generation of scientists and engineers.
  • Partner with regional and national educational organizations to pursue science and aerospace technology initiatives.
  • Continue and expand NASA’s precedent-setting partnership with the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport to facilitate growth of commercial space at Wallops through safe, low-cost, and responsive launch range services.
  • Provide critical facilities and operational expertise to NASA and industry that enables commercial re-supply of the International Space Station.
  • Be the organization-of-choice in providing flight projects and technology development for the Department of Defense and other government agencies through high-quality, low-cost, and responsive capabilities.
  • Partner with regional government organizations to facilitate growth of the Wallops Research Park as an attraction and enabler for aerospace business, training, and research.
  • Partner with Wallops tenant organizations through the Wallops Board of Directors to most efficiently carry out future planning and day-to-day activities.
 
› Back To Top