THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 13, 1995 TAG: 9507130381
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WALLOPS ISLAND LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
With a five-story rocket as a dramatic backdrop, Gov. George Allen on Wednesday officially opened another Virginia frontier for business with the appointment of the first Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority.
Every inch of the rocket - a Conestoga built by EER, a Northern Virginia aerospace company - said that the day had arrived for a commercial spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. The rocket is scheduled to be launched in early August.
``Virginia is open for business, not only on the land and sea, but in the air as well,'' Allen said.
By law, the authority will be governed by 11 directors, three of whom must be: the president of the state's Center for Innovative Technology, the president of Old Dominion University, and the state secretary of commerce and trade.
Some important players in the spaceport's development aren't on the list of directors.
EER, the Northern Virginia company that built the first commercial rocket to be launched here, has no representation on the board. Neither has Lockheed Missiles and Space Co., which has promised to pump $200,000 into building the project.
When asked about this, Allen said the authority will ignore no one in its quest to build and operate a viable commercial spaceport.
``They are going to work with everyone who is involved,'' Allen said.
Those appointed to the authority's first board were:
Joseph C. Casas of Williamsburg, president and CEO of SpaceTec, Inc., of Hampton.
John H. Mehoves of Fairfax County, executive vice president and deputy general manager of Orbital Sciences Corp.
Joseph M. Rougeau of Arlington County, director for telecommunications and space policy at Hughes Electronics in Arlington.
Fred Cooke of Fairfax County, director of community relations and external affairs for Bell Atlantic Video Services in Reston.
Thomas J. Savage Jr. of Northampton County, a retired engineer with 31 years of service at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, where he was associate chief of the engineering division, Suborbital Projects and Operations Directorate.
Harold C. Hoy of Virginia Beach, president and CEO of Hoy Construction Inc. in Norfolk.
Frank V. Moore of Accomack County, former associate director of management operations at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
Edward Weise of Richmond, president of GTE Telephone Operations for Virginia.
Joining them on the board will be James V. Koch, president of ODU; Robert T. Skunda, state secretary of commerce and trade, and Robert G. Templin Jr., president of the state's Center for Innovative Technology at Herndon in Northern Virginia. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
5,4,3...
...Blast-off will be in August. The five-story rocket was built by
EER, a Northern Virginia aerospace company.
Gov. George Allen, with a five-story rocket as a backdrop, appointed
the first Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority at NASA's
Wallops Flight Facility Wednesday. ``Virginia is open for business,
not only on the land and sea, but in the air as well,'' Allen said.
By law, the authority will be governed by 11 directors, three of
whom must be: the president of the state's Center for Innovative
Technology, the president of Old Dominion University, and the state
secretary of commerce and trade.
BILL TIERNAN
Staff
by CNB