The Antares rocket breezed through a long-anticipated "hot fire" test Friday night, moving the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on the Eastern Shore closer to its goal of transforming into a major hub for commercial space flights.
It was the first combined test of both the state's new $145 million liquid-fuel launch pad and the first stage of the new Antares rocket, designed and built by Dulles-based Orbital Sciences Corporation to resupply the International Space Station.
"To ensure, among other things, that they all work together," said Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski of the test. "And they do. And that was a big deal."
For the 29-second test, the first stage of the Antares was bolted to the launch pad while its two engines were ignited. Beneski said the countdown and ignition went without a hitch.
To view video of the hot fire, go to http://www.orbital.com and link to YouTube at the bottom of the page.
The test had been delayed for months as the launch pad infrastructure underwent final inspections and approval by NASA, which owns the Wallops Flight Facility where the pad sits. Orbital originally planned to conduct the test last fall.
Orbital has a $1.9 billion contract with NASA for eight resupply missions to deliver essential cargo to the space station using its Cygnus space module, then haul away debris. Those flights are set to launch from MARS and continue through 2016.
Launches will be visible throughout Hampton Roads and for hundreds of miles along the mid-Atlantic, Beneski said.
Over the next couple of weeks, Orbital will conduct in-depth data reviews of the rocket and the launch pad. When those are completed, Beneski said, a test flight will be scheduled, likely in four to six weeks. A demonstration flight will follow, possibly as early as mid-summer.
During the test flight, the Antares will launch from MARS with a simulated Cygnus module attached. For the demonstration flight, the Cygnus will attempt to rendezvous with the space station.
The Antares is a mid-lift rocket and the largest ever to launch from Wallops, capable of carrying payloads roughly the size of a small car.
Gov. Bob McDonnell called Friday's hot fire test a "major step forward in advancing commercial space flight at Wallops Island."
Virginia is one of only four states licensed by the FAA to launch into orbit, and McDonnell has been pushing to position the commonwealth to better appeal to the commercial space flight industry by transforming MARS into the "best commercial spaceport in the country."
Orbital's contract with NASA is similar to the $1.6 billion resupply contract granted to SpaceX, or Space Exploration Technologies Corp.
SpaceX made history last May when, during a demonstration flight of its Falcon rocket out of Cape Canaveral, Fla., its Dragon cargo capsule became the first commercial spacecraft to dock with the station.
The company launched its first resupply mission last October, and is scheduled to launch its second Friday morning.