The Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VCSFA), also known as ‘Virginia Spaceport Authority,’ is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia created by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1995 with the legislated mission of providing access to space for government and commercial customers, STEM education opportunities, stimulate economic development, and promote aerospace research within the Commonwealth.
The Virginia Spaceport Authority owns and operates the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS). This spaceport is one of only four spaceports in the U.S. licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for vertical launches to orbit. It includes three launch pads, an Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Airfield, a Payload Processing Facility (PPF), an Integration and Control Facility (ICF), an Assembly Integration and Test Facility (AIT), and the Addison Logistics Building. These facilities are located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia at Wallops Island. Virginia Spaceport Authority is a tenant organization on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Wallops Flight Facility (WFF).
