Virginia Looks to Space to Help Revive Economy

Industry Could Help Economy Take Off
Daily Press

Despite grim tax revenue, this year’s budget tentatively includes $10 million in bond money for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island on the Eastern Shore.

Last year, lawmakers earmarked $16 million in bonds to help upgrade roads and bolster the launch pads at the private spaceport.

In June, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine doled out $1 million in incentives to a Dulles-based company that announced that it would invest $45 million at Wallops Flight Facility and create 125 high-paying jobs across the state.

In December, the company — Orbital Sciences Corp. — won a $1.9 billion NASA contract to launch rockets to resupply astronauts at the space station. The deal represents a new focus on leaning on the private sector to help push the cutting edge forward.

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