DATE: Saturday, March 8, 1997               TAG: 9703080205

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: STAFF REPORT 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   42 lines

NASA'S NEW VENTURE TO CREATE 300 JOBS GOV. GEORGE ALLEN SAID VIRGINIA IS NOW ``A GATEWAY TO THE FRONTIER OF SPACE.''

Gov. George Allen announced Friday that NASA and the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority have signed an agreement allowing commercial satellite launches from Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore.

The agreement will potentially bring 300 new jobs and $60 million in capital investment to the region while retaining Wallops' 1,000 current employees.

``The Virginia Space Flight Authority's agreement with NASA represents one giant step for Virginia's economic development, and especially on the Eastern Shore,'' Allen said. ``Virginia is now not only the gateway to America, but a gateway to the frontier of space. This uniquely important new component of our expanding `Silicon Dominion' will increase opportunities for further investment from related businesses.''

The agreement establishes a 30-year partnership between NASA and the spaceport authority, allowing it to use the Wallops land, buildings and launch structures, plus range safety, tracking, command control and logistical support services.

Spaceport Virginia hopes to provide, low-cost, user-friendly launch services. It will also serve as an education center, providing hands-on experience for future scientists, engineers and mathematicians. Research there will focus on the development of new and improved aerospace products and techniques.

The commercial space flight center has already won a five-year, $6 million contract from the Air Force to launch its Minuteman II/Orbital-Suborbital Program. Spaceport officials are talking with Lockheed Martin Astronautics to win the launch of their LMLV-2 rocket.

``I'm proud to see the plans of a commercial spaceport in Virginia become a reality on Virginia's Eastern Shore,'' said First District Rep. Herb Bateman, who has served as the primary liaison between the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Center and NASA since arranging the first meeting between the two a year ago.

``Innovative ventures such as this one put Virginia on the cutting edge of the world space market.''

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