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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Rocket Lab selects Wallops for U.S. launch site [spacenews.com]

Small launch vehicle company Rocket Lab announced Oct. 17 that it will build its second launch pad, and first in the United States, at Wallops Island in Virginia.

The company, headquartered in the United States but with much of its operations in New Zealand, said it will build Launch Complex (LC) 2 at the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport, located at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility here. Construction of the pad is set to start almost immediately, with the company planning a first launch from the site in the third quarter of 2019.

Rocket Lab selected Wallops after what Rocket Lab Chief Executive Peter Beck called an "exhaustive nationwide search" for a launch site to complement its existing facility in New Zealand, known as LC-1. The company announced four finalists in July that included Wallops as well as Cape Canaveral in Florida, Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska.

Wallops Island [wikipedia.org].

Also at Ars Technica [arstechnica.com].

Previously: Rocket Lab Plans to Build its Next Launch Site in the US [soylentnews.org]

Related: NASA Awards Launch Contracts to Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit [soylentnews.org]

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