The Oct. 28, 2014, accident at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), located on Wallops Island, Virginia, caused about $20 million in damages to the state-owned launch pad. Orbital was launching its third Antares rocket for NASA under a $1.9 billion contract to fly cargo to the International Space Station.
Orbital had insurance to cover its losses at Wallops, as well as damage to federal property and other entities as required by the Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees commercial launches in the United States. That insurance, however, does not cover the MARS pad owned by Virginia, according to spokespeople for the company and the FAA.
"We looked at insurance for the pad, but the coverage was inadequate to our needs, and to the extent it was available, was exorbitantly costly," MARS Executive Director Dale Nash wrote in an email.
To cover the repair costs, Virginia has turned to taxpayers, successfully lobbying for a $20 million addition to NASA's 2015 budget as part of the Omnibus spending bill Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed in December.
Those funds, however, have not yet been released, said NASA spokesman Allard Beutel.
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Boy, the commonwealth of Virginia screwed up royally!
ReplyDeleteBy not purchasing insurance - and not requiring Orbital to cover the liability - they're gonna try and stick the taxpayers with the bill! Not the right way to win friends and show you can run your state (commonwealth) correctly....although I'll add the term commonwealth implies a communistic/socialistic set of ideals!
orbital has a $1.6 Billion contract. They were the ones who bought and used the flawed soviet rocket motors. Why aren't they paying? insurance or not!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteorbital has a $1.6 Billion contract. They were the ones who bought and used the flawed soviet rocket motors. Why aren't they paying? insurance or not!
February 27, 2015 at 10:17 AM
I was getting ready to jump in and you beat me to it.
I agree with this comment.
They are taking time to re-word the taxpayer funding so people don't understand.
ReplyDeleteNASA let you use the launch pad without evidence of insurance that would cover it in the event of damage? Who signed the contracts? Let's put a name to this stupidity.
ReplyDeleteWere the contracts written by Paul Wilber?
ReplyDeleteProbably approved by Fredrickson and Pollit
ReplyDeleteExactly: a contract. This contract is probably the reason Orbital is off the hook. They don't have to be! Should have written a stronger contract VA!
ReplyDeleteIt's not the responsibility of the Tax payer to cover for the mistake of OrbitalATK. Orbital needs to do the right thing and pay for the damage they caused, period. If Not, NASA needs to tell Orbital to pack sand, your done. Either pay up or get outta town, we'll find someone with ethics and morals to launch.
ReplyDeleteIf you still believe anything NASA says I urge you to do some research on the agency, it's inception, it's practices and it's directors. You'll find it's a cabal of Nazis [Werner Von Braun, et.al.], Freemasons [Jack Webb & at least 9 astronauts] & Occultists [Jack Parsons, JPL]. Who probably had an agenda from the agency's very beginning.
ReplyDeleteA future NASA abandoned launch site.I know of at least 15 others across the US.
ReplyDeleteI agree with above. Orbital either needs to pay up or loose future contracts with NASA. The tax payer should not have to foot the bill for this. From what Ive heard from people who work at Wallops, Orbital is always trying to pass blame onto the Virginia launch pad contractor.
ReplyDelete