National Aeronautics and
Space Administration

Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland 20771
301-286-8955

April 1995

The research and responsibilities of Wallops Flight Facility are centered around the philosophy of providing a fast, low cost, highly flexible and safe response to meet the needs of the United States' aerospace technology interests and science research.

NASA Wallops Flight Facility Main Base

1945 - 1957 Pilotless Aircraft Research Station

During this time, Wallops was instrumental in providing the foundation for aerodynamic and heat transfer research through establishing a high speed aeronautical launch site that used rockets to propel aircraft models. This facility enabled reasearchers to overcome the limited capabilities offered by the wind tunnels of the day.

1958 - 1974 Wallops Station

1958 marked the birth of NASA and the civilian space program. NASA research conducted at Wallops included developing components for the human space program, including capsule escape techniques, maximum pressure tests and recovery systems. Wallops led the way in range support for research in re-entry and life-support systems, Scout launch vehicles, as well as mobile research projects.

1975 - 1981 Wallops Flight Center

While continuing to act as a launch site for suborbital and orbital vehicles, Wallops expanded its horizons to include Earth studies of ocean processes, and used the Wallops Research Airport for runway surface and aircraft noise reduction studies.

1982 - Present Wallops Flight Facility

Wallops is now NASA's principal facility for management and implementation of suborbital research programs. Wallops' mission includes managing the NASA sounding rocket and balloon programs, providing launch support for the Small Expendable Launch Vehicle Services (SELVS) program, conducting observational Earth sciences studies, providing flight services for scientific investigations and operating the Wallops Test Range and Orbital Tracking Station.

WALLOPS' RESEARCH

NASA Wallops Flight Facility research is focused on the following areas:

Sounding Rockets

Black Brant XII Sounding Rocket

These vehicles provide an effective and inexpensive means of gathering important data about the atmosphere and space. Flying at altitudes from 30 miles (48 km) to above 800 miles (1,287 km), sounding rockets provide NASA and others in the scientific community with measurements of upper atmosphere chemistry; characteristics and changes in the ionosphere; and information about the Sun, planets, galaxies, nebulas and other phenomena. Sounding rockets also are used in the development and testing of instruments for orbital flight.

Scientific Balloons

Like the sounding rockets, balloons also provide a cost effective and beneficial means for investigations about the atmosphere, our solar system and the rest of the universe. While carrying instrumentation up to 8,000 pounds (3630 kg), the balloons can fly to altitudes of 23 miles (37 km) for a duration of a few hours to more than two weeks.

Science Aircraft

Wallops aircraft serve as research platforms for worldwide scientific missions studying forest ecological systems, ice formations, atmospheric phenomena and ocean dynamics and plant life. In addition, the aircraft conduct surveillance flights in support of the Wallops launch range.

Earth Science Studies

Scientists at Wallops study hydrospheric processes and the interaction between the oceans, the atmosphere and the land. They develop systems to measure ice elevations, phytoplankton and ocean circulation and wave heights, and actively study the Earth's atmosphere. The studies are leading to the development of instruments for more advanced Earth monitoring satellites.

Test Range

The test range is composed of three parts. The Launch Range has been responsible for thousands of various launches since 1945 and has the capability for launching small meteorological rockets, suborbital sounding rockets and small expendable orbital launch vehicles. The Research Airport provides the government and industry with a location for aircraft studies and services. Tracking and Data Acquisition (T&DA) focuses on radar, telemetry and data systems, which includes communications and optics. T&DA is provided, from Wallops and other world-wide sites, for orbital and suborbital spacecraft.

Interagency, Industry and Community Support

In addition to NASA, other government agencies located at Wallops are the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Located nearby are the U.S. Army Reserve, the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These agencies share resources to carry out their missions.

NASA also opens its unique facilities to industry for space and aeronautics research. Wallops expects an increase in commercial launch activity in the near future.

The 1,000 full-time Civil Service and contractor NASA Wallops employees actively support the Delmarva Peninsula community, including a variety of education programs for students ranging from kindergarten through college.

This Fact Sheet is a publication of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility Public Affairs Office. For further information on NASA Wallops programs, please call (804)824-1579.