Wallops Island Overview

Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), located on Wallops Island, Virginia, is a prominent rocket launch site operated by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Established in 1945, it has been integral in advancing research on flight characteristics of airplanes, launch vehicles, spacecraft, and in studying the Earth's upper atmosphere and outer space environment. The facility supports a range of activities including launches of sounding rockets, small expendable suborbital and orbital rockets, high-altitude balloon flights, and aeronautical research aircraft testing, including unmanned aerial vehicles. Wallops has seen over 16,000 launches since its inception. It also provides support for science missions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), foreign governments, and commercial organizations, and is involved in tests and exercises with the U.S. Navy. The facility employs around 1,000 NASA civil service employees, contractors, U.S. Navy personnel, and NOAA employees.