* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. WE HAVE A FORM, [00:00:01] UM, UH, LEE PAM, A DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR FOR COMMUNITY [Wallops Research Park Leadership Council Meeting on March 4, 2026.] AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND I WILL BE KICKING OFF, OR I WILL BE, UH, UH, UH, CONVENING THE MEETING UNTIL THE OFFICERS HAVE BEEN ELECTED. BUT WE'VE GOT FIVE MEMBERS PRESENT WITH, UH, MR. KRISTEN COLLINS, REPRESENTING THE S NAVY SESC, ABSENT, WE DO HAVE A QUORUM AS WE'VE GOT FIVE AND FOUR ARE REQUIRED. NO REMOTE PARTICIPATION IS REQUESTED. AND WE ALSO HAVE, UM, COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, MIKE MASON, COUNTY ATTORNEY, UH, UH, JAN PROCTOR. WE HAVE, UH, RYAN KENNEDY FROM VIRGINIA SPACE, AND I'M AFRAID I DIDN'T CATCH YOUR NAME. CARTER BIRCH. CARTER BIRCH, UH, SUPPORTING, UM, UH, UH, RYAN WITH VIRGINIA SPACE. WITH THAT BEING SAID, ELECTION OF OFFICERS IS NEXT. AND I WILL NOW OPEN THE FLOOR TO, UH, FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE POSITION OF CHAIR OF THE WA RESEARCH PARK LEADERSHIP COUNCIL. I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE JEFF PARKS TO BE THE CHAIR. SECOND THOUGHT YOU'D LIKE TO. OKAY. UH, MR. PARKS HAS BEEN NOMINATED AND SECONDED PROPERLY. UM, UH, ALL IN FAVOR OF ELECTING JEFF PARKS AS THE CHAIR FOR 2026, SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. OKAY. ALL OPPOSED? NO, MR. PARKS. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU, MR. PAMPER. YEAH. UH, SO, UH, WELL, THANK YOU ALL FOR TRUSTING ME TO, TO CONTINUE TO KEEP THIS MOVEMENT, THIS, THIS ENTITY MOVING. UM, AND, AND I APPRECIATE, UH, YOU, YOU ALL BEING HERE, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR VOTES OF CONFIDENCE, SO, THANK YOU. UH, SECOND ON THE AGENDA WOULD BE THE NOMINATION FOR A VICE CHAIR. UM, I WOULD OFFER MR. DAVID PIERCE, UH, AS A NOMINATION. SECONDED ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, UH, OR ANY OTHER, ANY FURTHER NOMINATIONS? I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT SAYS, DAVE, BUT IT'S GOOD. . UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF MR. DAVID PIERCE TO SERVE AS VICE CHAIR, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. CONGRATULATIONS, MR. PIERCE, AND THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. I THINK, I THINK THAT ADDS A LOT TO THE CREDIBILITY HERE OF THIS, OF THE COUNCIL, AND, AND THAT'S GREAT NEWS. NOT THAT EVERYONE DOESN'T PARTICIPATE. UH, MR. PAM, I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE A REQUIREMENT FOR ANY FURTHER OFFICERS. IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT. SO, EXCELLENT. UM, SO NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA WOULD BE THE ADOPTION OF THE, OF THE AGENDA, UH, TO MOVE FORWARD. DID I GET A, UM, MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA? SO MOVED. SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. GREAT. OKAY. UH, NEXT. YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED IN YOUR PACKET THE MINUTES FROM THE, UH, OUR LAST MEETING OF TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH. UM, CAN WE GET A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES OR ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS? SO, MOVE. SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ADOPTING THE MINUTES FROM THE NOVEMBER 18TH MEETING, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. THANK YOU. OKAY. PUBLIC COMMENT, PERIOD. GRACE, DO WE HAVE ANYONE SIGN UP? WE HAVE NO ONE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, THEREFORE, GOING TO THE NEXT TIME. OLD BUSINESS. UM, MR. PEMBRO? YES. SO, UM, YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU YOUR SLATE OF, UM, OF, UH, OF, UH, MEETINGS HERE IN 2026, AND WE WOULD JUST ASK THAT YOU, UH, ASK THAT YOU ADOPT THOSE, UH, UH, THOSE DATES. I'M SORRY, DID I SAY MINUTES? I MEANT DATES, UH, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MOVING WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26TH TO WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH BECAUSE OF, UM, UH, BECAUSE OF THANKSGIVING. OKAY. UH, I THINK THAT'S MAKES SENSE, RIGHT? MM-HMM . SO WE GET A MOTION TO, UM, ADOPT A CALENDAR AS AMENDED. SO MOVED SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, AND THE POINT OF ORDER I DIDN'T, UM, WE DIDN'T COVER, UH, ACCEPTING REMOTE PARTICIPATION, HOWEVER, WE DON'T HAVE ANY REMOTE PARTICIPANTS AT THIS TIME, SO, CORRECT. JUST POINT THAT OUT. OKAY. AND UNDER NEW BUSINESS, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION OF OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, UH, FOR THE PARK AND FOR THE COUNCIL. UH, AND WHICH I, I'LL POINT OUT, YOU KNOW, BIG POINT OF THE BASELINE FOR THAT DISCUSSION [00:05:01] IS THAT THE COUNCIL'S CHARTER IS BROADER THAN JUST THE PARK. IT HAS TO DEAL WITH NORTHERN AKIMA COUNTY AND OUR SPACE INDUSTRY AND, AND, AND FACILITATING THE, UH, THE GROWTH THERE. UH, MR. PAMPER, DO YOU WANT TO OPEN THAT DISCUSSION, PLEASE? SURE. UM, UH, THE REPORT, UH, YOU KNOW, DURING THE LAST WATS RESEARCH PARK LEADERSHIP COUNCIL MEETING, THE COUNCIL LOOKED OVER STAFF AND CHAIRMAN PARKS STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND BOILED IT DOWN TO THREE FOLLOW TO THE THREE FOLLOWING OVERARCHING ELEMENTS OF PROMOTE, SUPPORT AND EXPAND. UM, THE STAFF IS STILL FLESHING OUT AN OVERALL DRAFT DOCUMENT, BUT WE REQUEST OF YOUR GENERAL DIRECTION FROM THE COUNCIL ON THE PERSPEC ON YOUR PERSPECTIVES ON THOSE THREE ELEMENTS TO AID IN THE DISCUSSION, THE STAFF, AND PREPARED. BASICALLY, WHAT YOU SEE HERE ON THE SCREEN REGARDING PROMOTION, UH, PROMOTE SUPPORT AND EXPAND, UH, PROMOTE, UH, WHAT WE HAVE DOWN MARKETING AND OUTREACH ARE THE HALLMARK ACTIVITIES OF PROMOTING THE RESEARCH PARK. UM, UH, ESTABLISHING DOCUMENTS THAT DEPICT THE, UH, UH, THE PARK'S, UH, CURRENT POSITION IN TERMS OF RESOURCES, CAPABILITIES AND UTILITIES, UH, THEY MAY INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO OFFERING MEMOS, BROCHURES, REPORTS, CAPABILITIES, STATEMENTS, ET CETERA. I WILL MENTION THAT WE HAVE ALREADY DESIGNED AN OFFERING MEMO, WHICH YOU ALL SAW, AND OF COURSE, WE CAN, UM, UH, WE CAN DESIGN OTHERS AS NEEDED FOR SUPPORT. UM, SUPPORTING THE TENANTS ALREADY PRESENT AT THE PARK, INCLUDES ENSURING THE RESOURCES AND, AND THE NEEDS ARE, ARE MET. THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL ACTS AS AN ADVOCATE FOR TENANTS AND, AND, AND ADVOCATES TO HELP FACILITATE DISCUSSION BETWEEN ALL PARTIES, MEANING LANDOWNERS, TENANTS, OR PROSPECTS WHEN NEEDED IT. UM, IT COULD ALSO MEAN EXTERNAL SUPPORT OF LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND STATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES. WITH REGARDS TO EXPANSION. UH, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FINDING WAYS TO INCREASE THE RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE AVAILABLE TO THOSE WHO ARE, UM, LANDOWNERS OR TENANTS. AND THAT ALSO MAY INCLUDE, UH, THE ABILITY TO EXPAND ECONOMIC ABILITIES OF THE PARK IN TERMS OF ACQUIRING, UH, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL FUNDING. SO THE ABILITY TO EXPAND ALLOWS FOR MORE ACCESSIBILITY, USAGE, AND SITE READINESS OF THE PARK. AND BASICALLY, THOSE ARE JUST REALLY GENERAL STATEMENTS WITH REGARDS TO, UM, THOSE THREE WORDS. BUT WHAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR IS JUST SOME, UH, SOME ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE AND, UM, AND, UM, UH, UH, JUST DISCUSSION FROM THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL. AND I'LL OPEN THE FLOOR, UH, TO THE GROUP. I THINK, YOU KNOW, I THINK PART OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO IS DO WE START LINING UP SOME, FIRST OF ALL, DO WE STILL, DOES EVERYONE STILL FEEL LIKE THAT THESE ARE, ARE GOOD BOUNDARIES, RIGHT? THESE ARE, THIS IS KIND OF A WAY AHEAD LINES OF EFFORT MM-HMM . UM, THE SECOND PART OF THAT IS WHAT ACTIONS MM-HMM . UH, DO WE SEE FALLING UNDER THOSE? RIGHT? AND IF WE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT, OR IF WE WANNA MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS, AND, UM, DEFINITELY WANT YOUR GUYS' INSIGHT. AND I HAD SOME RECENT EVENTS I THINK WE COULD SHARE AS WELL. SO, AND BY THE WAY, THESE AREN'T ABSOLUTE, SO, UM, I MEAN, MR. CHAIRMAN, THEY, THEY MAKE SENSE TO ME FROM THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STANDPOINT. MM-HMM . WE TALK ABOUT SITES IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, IT'S ABOUT SITE CHARACTERIZATION AND READINESS MM-HMM . UH, PLANNING AND MARKETING. AND, AND THESE KIND OF COVER THOSE IN TERMS OF PROMOTION AND SUPPORT. UM, IN TERMS OF CHARACTERIZING OUR SITES AND UNDERSTANDING THEM FULLY, ENSURING THAT WE HAVE A PLAN. I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THAT A COUPLE MEETINGS AGO, RIGHT? MM-HMM . AND THEN ENSURING ONCE WE KNOW WHAT WE HAVE AND WHAT WE WANT TO DO WITH IT, GETTING THE, THE WORD OUT. AND THAT'S MARKETING, THAT'S THE PROMOTION PART. SO IN MY MIND, UM, THESE ALL MAKE SENSE. I'M NOT SURE IF THEY'RE IN PRIORITY ORDER OR NOT. UM, IF, IF THERE WAS A, IF I COULD GIVE A RECOMMENDATION, IT WOULD BE THAT SUPPORT IS PROBABLY THE HIGHEST PRIORITY FOR CURRENT TENANTS AND FOR THE SITE, AND THEN A PROMOTION AFTER THAT. BUT IF THEY ARE IN PRIORITY ORDER, THEN TOTALLY UNDERSTOOD. THAT'S JUST MY OPINION. OKAY. I THINK THAT'S A, THAT'S A VERY SOLID RECOMMENDATION. UM, AND, AND I, FROM, SO YOU FEEL LIKE THAT THOSE ALIGN WITH THE STATE'S PRIORITIES, THEY ALIGN WITH, UM, THE STATE'S PRIORITIES IN TERMS OF, UH, SITES. AND SO, RIGHT. AS, AS IT PERTAINS TO SITES, IT'S ALL ABOUT SITE READINESS. THAT STARTS WITH CHARACTERIZATION AND, AND A PLAN TO GET THOSE SITES TO A POINT WHERE THEY'RE, WHAT WE CALL SHOVEL READY. [00:10:02] AND SO I, I THINK WE'VE GOT A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT THE SITES ARE. I THINK THE SITE CHARACTERIZATIONS PRETTY WELL ESTABLISHED. UM, UM, EXPAND, MAYBE TALKS ABOUT WAYS TO GET THEM MORE READY TO, UM, YEAH, I'M NOT, I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S THE INTENT THERE, BUT THEN TO ME, THOSE ARE THE FIRST TWO STEPS BEFORE YOU GET TO MARKETING OUTREACH. SO, UH, LET ME TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY. MR. PAMPER IS, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT, I, AND I'M, I MAY NOT USE THE RIGHT TERM, BUT THE MASTER PLAN FOR THE PARK, UM, BEING UPDATED, WHAT DO WE NEED TO FACILITATE THAT? AND I'LL POINT OUT TO YOU, MR. MASON AND I ACTUALLY GOT TO SEE OUR MASTER PLAN. WE WERE, WHEN WE WERE AT VACO, UH, IN DECEMBER. SO THE, UH, WHO WAS THAT? MIKE? THAT WAS VRA? YEAH, VRA WAS, WAS SHOWING IT AS A SUCCESS STORY, BUT IT WAS THE ORIGINAL PLAN. THE ORIGINAL PLAN FROM, UH, LIKE EARLY 20 TEENS OR, OR, OR 2010S. YES. SURE. SO, UM, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FACILITATING A REFRESH OF THE CONCEPT PLAN, UH, NORMALLY THAT'S AN RFP THAT GOES OUT, DEPENDING ON THE, DEPENDING ON THE COST, WE'RE REALLY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'D HAVE TO GET AN IDEA OF WHAT A REFRESH WOULD COST, AND THEN IF IT MEETS THE CERTAIN BENCHMARK FOR PROCUREMENT, THEN WE'D HAVE TO GO OUT AND, AND FOLLOW THAT PROCESS. BUT I BELIEVE THAT THE ORIGINAL CONCEPT PLAN WAS ACTUALLY DONE BY TIMMONS. UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT OTHER OPTIONS OUT THERE FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR CONSULTANTS, BUT, YOU KNOW, DE DEPENDING ON THE COST OF WHAT THAT WOULD, UH, DEPENDING ON THAT COST, WE MAY HAVE TO ACTUALLY PROCURE THAT. DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? IT DOES. YEAH. I'M CURIOUS, WHAT IF VRA HAS A ROLE IN THAT, OR THEY MAY HAVE ACCESS TO FUNDS THAT WILL FACILITATE IT SINCE THEY'RE USING IT AS A MARKETING TOOL MM-HMM . UM, SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN CHECK INTO. OKAY. BUT I, UM, AND, BUT I LIKE YOUR IDEA OF PROBABLY MOVING SUPPORT UP BECAUSE IT DEALS YOU, YOU CAN ALSO LOOK AT THAT AS A PHASED APPROACH AT TIME. SO IF WE DEAL WITH SUPPORT, WE'RE DEALING WITH THE IMMEDIATE RIGHT. RIGHT. PROMOTE YOU'RE DEALING, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE MID-LEVEL WE'RE PROMOTING AND THEN EXPANDING WOULD BE THE THIRD TIER. SO I THINK THAT'S, AND I THINK YOU WERE OUT, BUT THE DISCUSSION WAS TO FLIP, PROMOTE AND SUPPORT TO REALLY MAKE SUPPORT THE PRIORITY. AND LEE, I WOULD, AND ALSO ENCOURAGE YOU TO LOOK AT GO VIRGINIA GRANT THRESHOLDS FOR PLANNING, IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD FALL UNDER THOSE, UM, GRANT GUIDELINES. I BELIEVE I'VE SEEN MASTER PLANNING GRANTS GO THROUGH GO VIRGINIA BEFORE. OKAY. SO THERE'S OTHER STATE RESOURCES THAT MAY BE APPLICABLE HERE. I THINK THAT'S, THAT, THAT REALLY IS THE KEY, TO BE HONEST. I MEAN, FUNDING IS, IS IT TAKES MONEY TO DO ANYTHING. YEAH. UM, AND EVEN IF IT'S A STATE ENTITIES, YOU KNOW, UM, AND, AND I WOULD TURN TO EVERYONE ELSE. ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? I MEAN, LOOK AT LOOKING AT THOSE, AND WE CERTAINLY WANT TO INTEGRATE YOUR ORGANIZATIONS INTO THIS EFFORT AS WELL. SOMETHING THAT WE PROBABLY DIDN'T TALK ENOUGH ABOUT LAST YEAR, BUT HOW CAN THAT BENEFIT MARINE SCIENCE CONSORTIUM OR THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND A LOT OF YOUR ENDEAVORS THAT ARE GOING ON, AT LEAST WE CAN TIE THEM IN, WHICH HELPS US GENERATE INTEREST IN ANY WAY WE CAN. AND I MEAN, GETTING THE WORD OUT STILL, WE WANNA TAKE CARE OF OUR TENANT, BUT GETTING THE WORD OUT STILL A MAJOR CHALLENGE. YEAH. I, I, MR. CHAIR, I, I WANNA AGREE WITH THE ORDER THAT WAS PROPOSED JUST NOW IN TERMS OF THAT SUPPORT AND PROMOTION, UM, ORDER. UM, WHEN I THINK ABOUT GOING BACK TO THAT MASTER PLANNING EFFORT, I THINK THERE SHOULD BE, UH, SOME ALIGNMENT WITH REFRESHING THAT PLAN AND THESE CURRENT AND ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE SEEING HERE. THESE ELEMENTS HERE. I, I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE THAT ROADMAP. AND SO I'M NOT SURE IF, IF, IF IT'S A GOOD TIME NOW FOR US TO TALK ABOUT HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT FROM THE GROUND LEVEL, THAT WE'RE GETTING A REALLY GOOD FOUNDATION THERE. MM-HMM . BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE FOR, FOR ME, SITTING IN THE PRESIDENCY AT COMMUNITY COLLEGE MM-HMM . ALL THE STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE, WHETHER IT'S THE INDUSTRY AND SPACE, UM, ALL THE OTHER AUXILIARY AREAS THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON HERE, I THINK YOU NEED THAT, THAT FOUNDATION TO HELP CLARIFY THE MESSAGE. RIGHT. AND TO ALSO CLARIFY SORT OF THE SUPPORT THAT WE'RE GONNA NEED TO SHOW FOLKS THAT WE REALLY HAVE A PLAN THAT'S JUST NOT FOR NOW, BUT IT REALLY GOES INTO LOOKING DOWN THE ROAD IN THE FUTURE TOO. SO MM-HMM . I'M GONNA THROW OUT A WORD. YES. IT'S NOT ONE OF MY FAVORITE WORDS, BUT IT'S COMMONLY AN ECOSYSTEM YEP. OF SUPPORT HERE, MR. CHAIR. I, I WANT TO SECOND WHAT, UH, DR. MINAS WAS [00:15:01] JUST SAYING, UM, WHEN I LOOK AT THIS, IF WE COULD HAVE ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION THAT'S AVAILABLE, HOW WE, UH, GO FROM WHAT YOU'VE LAID OUT VERY WELL AS STRATEGIC PRIORITIES TO CREATING STRATEGIC GOALS WITH EACH OF THOSE PRIORITIES, THEN WE CAN TALK TO THE TACTICAL PLANS, I THINK IS WHAT, UH, DR. MINAS IS SAYING FOR A THREE TO FIVE YEAR PLAN THAT IS PROBABLY AS FAR DOWN THE ROAD AS, AS WE CAN YEAH. RIGHT. RELEVANT. AND THEN WE CAN COME UP WITH SOME NEXT STEPS WITH MR. PAM BID IN TERMS OF HOW WE MIGHT DO SOME HOMEWORK TO SUPPORT YOU AND THIS OBJECTIVE. UM, I HAD WRITTEN DOWN AEROSPACE ECOSYSTEM BEFORE, BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IT, AS, UM, MR. MASON WELL KNOWS THERE'S SO MUCH IN THE AREA IN AKIMA COUNTY THAT HAS IMPACT ON THE RESEARCH PARK. IT, AND THEN HOW THE, THE NASA FACILITY HAS IMPACT ON THE RESEARCH PARK AND THEN OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY, RIGHT? YEAH. AND HOW WE'RE TRYING TO DEVELOP THAT, UM, THE CONNECTIVE TISSUE, UM, AND SOME OF THE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH. I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO SEE HOW WE TIE INTO THAT. YOU'RE SAYING SUPPORT, INCLUDING SOME THAT ARE HERE WITH US TODAY THAT WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM LATER. YES, SIR. EXACTLY. THAT'S, THAT'S KEY IS THE ROLE OF VIRGINIA SPACE. UM, BUT I, I THINK STARTING WITH THOSE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND KNOWING WHAT WAS ALREADY THERE FROM VRA, ET CETERA, WILL HELP US GAUGE WHAT KIND OF STRATEGIC GOALS THAT WE NEED TO, UM, DEVELOP UNDER EACH PRIORITY, ONE OR TWO OF THEM. I THINK THAT THAT'S MY ONLY FRUSTRATION IS IT'S TAKEN US SO LONG TO GET TO THIS 'CAUSE WE DON'T GET THAT MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO GET TOGETHER. AND SO SOME OF THAT, I WOULD HOPE WE CAN CONTINUE VIA EMAIL OR OFFLINE, AND MAYBE WE, WE, WE CALL A SPECIAL MEETING AMONGST US TO JUST DO SOME OF THAT. AND CERTAINLY GRAHAM BRINGS A WEALTH OF THIS FROM, UH, HIS, HIS PERSPECTIVE THAT WE COULD BENEFIT FROM. AND IF I COULD JUST ADD, SIR, UM, I THINK WHAT MR. PIERCE REALLY MENTIONED IS THAT THE, THE MAKEUP OF THAT ECOSYSTEM THAT'S REQUIRED FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF A SITE, UM, GOT A LOT OF THE PLAYERS ON THIS COUNCIL MM-HMM . MM-HMM . AND I THINK THAT'S FOR ON PURPOSE BY CODE. BUT HOW CAN WE UTILIZE THE EXPERTISE HERE? I MEAN, I'M THINKING OF THE EASTERN SHORE COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND MM-HMM . YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY ARE, THEY'RE USING GO VIRGINIA FOR A COUPLE THINGS SPECIFICALLY TIED TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, TALENT, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FOR THE TYPES OF INDUSTRIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO ATTRACT. FOR ATTRACT. YEAH, EXACTLY. THAT'S WHAT I'M, THAT'S WHAT I'M THINKING ABOUT MM-HMM . UM, YOU KNOW, WE, YOU'VE GOT THE FEDERAL MISSION REPRESENTED HERE IN MULTIPLE WAYS MM-HMM . UM, AND THAT, AND THAT'S HOW THE PRIVATE SECTOR DERIVES THEIR GROWTH PLANS AND, AND THEIR INVESTMENT PRIORITIES AS WELL. SO, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH THE SPACEPORT AUTHORITY AS WELL, WE'VE GOT THE EXPERTISE TO REALLY LOOK AT THE WHOLE PICTURE MM-HMM . AND THINK ABOUT THE WAYS THAT THE PARK IS PART OF THAT ECOSYSTEM AND HOW DOES THE PARK POSITION ITSELF TO BE, UH, AN AN IMPORTANT PART OF THAT ECOSYSTEM. SO I THINK THIS IS A GOOD START. I WOULD ENCOURAGE THE STAFF TO GET THE DRAFT, TO GET A DRAFT OUT. UM, LET, LET US TAKE THE RED PEN TO IT. YEAH. BUT BETTER TO START WITH SOMETHING. UM, IT'S TAKEN A LITTLE BIT TO GET THESE IDEAS KIND OF FORMULATED. I THINK THIS IS A GOOD START. BUT WE, YOU KNOW, WE GOTTA KEEP THAT MOMENTUM GOING. SO I'M KIND OF AGREEING WITH BOTH OF YOU THERE, OR ALL THREE OF YOU ACTUALLY. AND IS IT CONSENSUS THAT WE MAKE SUPPORT THE NUMBER, ASSUMING PRIORITIES FROM TOP TO BOTTOM? WE MAKE CONSENT, WE MAKE SUPPORT THE TOP PRIORITY. AND I THINK THAT'S A GOOD SELLING POINT. IF YOU'RE TALKING TO SOMEONE ELSE COMING IN TO SAY, HEY, THERE'S AN ENTITY HERE THAT'S TIED TO THE COMMUNITY, THAT'S TIED TO THIS ECOSYSTEM THAT'S GONNA SUPPORT YOU. IT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING ALSO, WE CAN LOOK AT THE, I, I CALL 'EM A ONE PAGER, BUT THE CAPABILITY STATEMENT, BUT THE, THE DOCUMENT THAT YOU GUYS DID, UM, AND WE, WE CAN ADD THAT INTO IT, THAT, HEY, THIS ENTITY'S SUPPORTED BY COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP, STATE, LOCAL, FEDERAL, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE GONNA BE IN HERE, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE THAT. YOU'RE GONNA HAVE THAT LEVEL OF SUPPORT. UM, AGREED. CHET, ANY THOUGHTS? , I'M LISTENING. RIGHT? AND THE MARINE SCIENCE CONSORTIUM. SO, UM, OKAY. UM, LET'S GO DOWN IF YOU CAN, TO, UM, THE THIRD ONE, WHICH IS EXPAND. UM, [00:20:02] I THINK IT STILL WORKS, IT'S PROBABLY NOT THE BEST WORD, BUT FINDING WAYS TO INCREASE THE RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE AVAILABLE TO THOSE WHO ARE LANDOWNERS, TENANTS, OR, OR THE RESEARCH PART. UM, BUT I THINK THAT'S ALSO APPLIES TO THE COUNCIL ITSELF. FINDING WAYS TO GET, GATHER MORE RESOURCES, WHETHER IT BE THROUGH, AS YOU SAID, GO VIRGINIA FUNDING OR, OR OTHER GRANTS OR WHATEVER OTHER GRANTS ARE OUT THERE MM-HMM . UM, TO EXPAND OUR CAPABILITY TO DO THE THREE THINGS. YES, SIR. 'CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A REVENUE STREAM PER SE RIGHT NOW. RIGHT. UM, BUT IF WE'RE, AND, AND, AND, AND AS WE TIE OUR CAPABILITIES TO THIS ECOSYSTEM, RIGHT, TO THE NEEDS OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE GONNA NEED TO USE IT, THIS WILL BECOME MORE RELEVANT. AND THEN THE CAPABILITIES WILL, I'M, I'M THINKING IT'S A FEEDING, RIGHT? MM-HMM . WHERE THE CAPABILITIES OF THE RESEARCH PARK WILL GROW AS WE, UM, WE GROW THE CAPABILITIES OF, OF THE USERS AT THE FACILITY, FOR INSTANCE, PAYLOAD PROCESSING IS, IS WE KNOW THAT THAT IS A STRATEGIC INTEREST OF EVERYONE INVOLVED. IT'S AN IMPORTANT, UH, CAPABILITY, TECHNICAL CAPABILITY. UM, BUT PAYLOAD PROCESSING FACILITY, FOR INSTANCE, HAS TO BE STAFFED WITH PEOPLE. PEOPLE THAT WOULD COME FROM A PIPELINE, FROM AN INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING DOWN THE ROAD THAT WILL SERVE TO HELP, UH, STAFF THAT AND RUN THAT, ET CETERA. UM, THE CAPABILITIES, UH, THAT WOULD SUPPORT VIRGINIA SPACE AS WELL AS THE CUSTOMER'S VIRGINIA SPACE WILL BRING IN. SO, YOU KNOW, IT ALL, ALL PLAYS TOGETHER. MM-HMM . AND, UM, THAT'S WHY I THINK THAT AS YOU POINT OUT, EXPANDING EXPANDING CAPABILITIES IS, I THINK IS A REALLY IMPORTANT STRATEGIC GOAL OF LAYING OUT WHAT ARE THOSE CAPABILITIES THAT ARE GONNA BE RELEVANT AND TO THE NATIONAL PRIORITIES. RIGHT? AND AT WALLOPS, IT'S, IT'S RETURNING TO THE MOON IS THE NASA PRIORITY, BUT THE NATIONAL SECURITY PRIORITIES ARE JUST EXPLODING AT WOPS. SO, CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION? IS THERE ANY CHALLENGES FOR DRONE OPERATIONS OFF YOUR MAIN AIRFIELDS? NO, SIR. SO IF WE HAVE SOMEONE COMING IN MM-HMM . BECAUSE, LIKE BASED ON CURRENT EVENTS MM-HMM . DRONES, REMOTELY PILOTED, UAVS, WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL 'EM MM-HMM . YES. AND COUNTER UAV AND COUNTER UAS IS GONNA BE A HUGE FACTOR, RIGHT? A LOT OF MONEY'S GETTING READY TO BE SPENT. AND, AND CLEARLY, UM, THE, UH, THE UAS RUNWAY ON THE NORTH END OF WALLOPS ISLAND MANAGED, UH, AND OWNED BY, UH, VSA IS, IS, IS A GREAT CAPABILITY THAT WE SEE BEING USED ALMOST WEEKLY NOW. AND THAT, THAT IMPORTANCE ISN'T GOING AWAY. AND, UM, IT'S GREAT THAT WE HAVE, UH, TWO DIFFERENT AIR FIELDS THAT ARE, UM, COMPLIMENTARY AND THAT CAN SUPPORT, UH, DIFFERENT TYPES OF VEHICLES. FOR INSTANCE, GLOBAL HAWKS, THOSE RANGE HAWKS ARE GONNA BE OPERATING OFF OF THE WALLOPS MAIN BASE. THEY COULDN'T, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE BIG ENOUGH THAT THEY WOULDN'T OPERATE OFF OF THE UAS RUNWAY ON THE NORTH END OF WALL OF ISLAND. SO DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU'RE SEEING, YOU SEE ON THE NEWS JUST LAST NIGHT, THE, UM, UAS THAT, UH, IRAN IS, UH, FLYING, UH, TO HIT OTHER, YOU KNOW, OIL FIELDS AND STUFF LIKE THAT. SO COUNTER UAS ACTIVITIES ARE OF, OF GREAT IMPORTANCE. AND I THINK WALLOPS HAS SHOWN ITSELF TO BE THE TEST RANGE ON THE EAST COAST. SO IT'S, IT ONE, WE'RE ONE OF ONLY FOUR, UH, ORBITAL LAUNCH SITES IN THE COUNTRY. RIGHT. BUT WE REALLY ARE THE TESS RANGE COASTAL TEST RANGE ON THE EAST COAST PARTNERING WITH PAX RIVER, WITH DAHLGREN, WITH, UM, LANGLEY. UM, WE ARE, UM, A COMPLIMENTARY MID-ATLANTIC D-O-D-D-O-W TESS RANGE. AND THE CAPE CAN'T DO THIS WORK, RIGHT? THEY'RE, THEY'RE AT CAPACITY OF LAUNCHING ORBITAL. AND, UH, THAT, I THINK THAT'S THE POINT IS THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY HERE. AND THOSE CAPABILITIES, I THINK IF WE SPEND A LITTLE, DO A LITTLE HOMEWORK AND CAPTURE THOSE CAPABILITIES OF WHAT WE WANT THE RESEARCH PART [00:25:01] TO BE ABLE TO ENABLE, I THINK IT'LL HELP THAT MESSAGING. YEAH. I DO. I MEAN, THIS, TO ME, THIS, THAT'S A LOW HANGING FRUIT. WHEN YOU LOOK AT, TO SOME OF THE, THE LOTS THAT WE HAVE THAT COULD, EVEN THOUGH WE DIDN'T GET THE FUNDING, HAVE ACCESS TO THE, TO THE RUNWAYS, THE RAMPS, IF I WAS DOING THAT WORK, ESPECIALLY, YOU DON'T NECESSARILY WANNA LEAVE IT OUT EXPOSED ALL DAY LONG FOR EVERYBODY TO SEE. I MEAN, THAT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY. YEAH. IF I WAS A, IF I WAS AN AEROSPACE COMPANY, I'D BE EYEING THE RESEARCH PARK AS A, JUST A, A PREEMINENT LOCATION TO READY MYSELF TO BE ABLE TO GO OUT AND LAUNCH ON THE ISLAND. AND OF COURSE, COMMUNITY COLLEGE IS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THIS WORK AS WELL. MM-HMM . SO, I MEAN, THAT'S ANOTHER, UH, OPPORTUNITY. AND SO I'LL LEAD INTO THAT TO SAY, UNDERSTANDING YOUR GUYS' POINTS ABOUT STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND LAYING OUT THOSE TASKS. BUT I DO THINK THERE'S SOME THINGS WE NEED TO DO, OR I WOULD RECOMMEND WE DO IN THE SHORT TERM AS WE'RE STILL FLESHING THAT OUT. FOR INSTANCE, AND I TALKED TO STAFF ABOUT IDENTIFYING, UM, CONFERENCES, UH MM-HMM . LIKE AEROSPACE DAYS IN RICHMOND. YEP. UH, AND THAT WE PUT TOGETHER SOME MARKETING MATERIALS MM-HMM . AND PLAN. AND HOPEFULLY SOME OF US COULD ATTEND OR ATTEND WITH STAFF TO GO TO SOME OF THOSE EVENTS. AND I MEAN, IF YOU'RE DOING IT IN TWO CAPACITIES, I THINK THERE'S, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY CONFLICT OF INTEREST THERE, UH, TO, TO HELP GET THE WORD OUT TO SOME OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES. UM, AND MR. CHAIR, IF I COULD JUST, ONE OTHER THING IS, IS THAT, UM, WE HAVE A NEW SPACE POLICY THAT WAS ENACTED. UH, THIS, UH, THE NATIONAL SPACE COUNCIL WAS, UM, DISASSEMBLED WHATEVER. UH, BUT THE NATIONAL SPACE POLICY WAS CREATED IN, IN DECEMBER. AND THERE WERE FOUR AREAS THAT NASA BELIEVES ARE VERY STRONGLY ALIGNED TO WALLOPS. ONE OF WHICH IS TO WHAT WE ARE JUST TALKING ABOUT. ONE IS ENABLE RETURN TO THE MOON. SECONDLY IS ADVANCING SCIENTIFIC, ECONOMIC AND NATIONAL SECURITY VALUE. WHEN, WHEN WE READ THAT WE, WE SEE WALLOPS, YOU KNOW, ALL OVER THAT MM-HMM . IN TERMS OF THE ECONOMIC DRIVER, ECONOMIC ENGINE, $1.4 BILLION ON THE EASTERN SHORE, BUT ALSO THE NATIONAL SECURITY VALUE, THE ABILITY TO FLY TECHNOLOGIES AND DEVELOP TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE WAR FIGHTER QUICKLY. MM-HMM . UH, STRENGTHEN THE ORBITAL ECONOMY IS ONE OF THE HIGHEST PRIORITIES IN THE SPACE POLICY. AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING. THAT'S GREAT. AND THEN FINALLY, IT'S INCREASING DISCOVERY VELOCITY. AND WHAT THAT IS MEANT BY THAT IS TO USE CAPABILITIES TO FLY TECHNOLOGY VERY QUICKLY AND GET IT RE FLOWN. NOTHING'S BETTER ABOUT DOING THAT THAN THE NASA SUBORBITAL PROGRAM. SO WE THINK WALLOPS IS WELL SUITED, MR. CHAIR, TO SUPPORT THE SPACE POLICY. AND I'D ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO READ THE, THE SPACE POLICY THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT A BIG DOCUMENT, BUT IT WOULD SHOW US IN TERMS OF THE US AS PART OF THE RESEARCH PARK COUNCIL, UM, ANOTHER PIECE OF, UH, GUIDING DOCUMENTATION, MR. PAM. EXCELLENT. SORRY. EXCELLENT. NO, THAT'S GREAT INFORMATION. AND, AND I, I WAS NOT AWARE OF THAT. I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY ELSE WAS. SO, DEFINITELY DO IT. AND I HEARD A GREAT MARKETING THEME THERE IS, WHILST RESEARCH PARK IS WELL POSITIONED TO SUPPORT THE NEW NATIONAL SPACE POLICY, YOU KNOW, AND, AND DRIVE THE ECONOMIC ENGINE OR THE ECONOMIC ECOSYSTEM, OR AEROSPACE ECOSYSTEM MM-HMM . WOW. GRACE, IT'S JUST ROLLING OFF HER TONGUE. GRACE HAS ALREADY WRITTEN THIS DOWN. UH, MR. CHAIR, TO YOUR COMMENT ABOUT THE MARKETING EFFORTS AND OUTREACH EFFORTS, I WOULD ENCOURAGE THE STAFF TO STAY APPRISED OF EDPS, UH, CAMPAIGNS THAT ARE COMING OUT FOR PARTNER PARTICIPATION LATER IN THIS FISCAL YEAR OF VIRGINIA'S FISCAL YEAR FOR NEXT VIRGINIA FISCAL YEAR, WHICH JUST STARTS IN JULY. UM, SO THOSE, THOSE WILL BE GOING OUT, I BELIEVE IN MAY FOR BIDDING, UH, TO JOIN THE EDP MISSIONS. AND THERE'S A STRONG FOCUS ON SPACE AND AEROSPACE, UH, TYPE CONFERENCES AND CALL TRIPS THAT, UM, YOU MIGHT FIND, UH, RIGHT UP YOUR ALLEY. SO I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE YOU TO KEEP, KEEP ON THAT. THAT MAY ALIGN WELL WITH THE EDA AS WELL, MR. . MM-HMM . OKAY. UM, SO TELL ME IF I GOT THIS RIGHT. WE, ONE WE WANNA REPRIORITIZE, WE'RE GONNA MOVE SUPPORT UP AND ASK STAFF TO, AND WE'VE KIND OF DONE THIS, WE WHITEBOARDED IT IN MR. PAMPER'S OFFICE, BUT TRY TO LINE UP [00:30:01] KIND OF SOME, SOME OPERATIONAL TASK UNDER THESE STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES MM-HMM . UM, TO LAY THAT OUT. AND IF, I THINK THE PROCESS I HEARD WAS WE COULD WORK THAT VIA EMAIL WITH SOME RED LINES AND COME TO A CONCLUSION. SO BY NEXT MEETING, WE COULD POSSIBLY PUT THAT TO THE VOTE. YES. PUT IT IN, YOU KNOW, INSTITUTIONALIZE IT, PUT UP SIGNS, BANNERS, EVERYWHERE. MM-HMM . YOU KNOW, AIRPLANES PULLING STREAMERS BEHIND THEM AND ALL THAT STUFF, AND GET THE WORD OUT. IS THAT, IS THAT THE CONSENSUS? YES. YES, SIR. SO I DON'T THINK WE WOULD NEED ANY FORMAL MOTION TO DO THAT. ALRIGHT. GREAT. OKAY. SUPER. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THOSE TOPICS? I DO WANNA POINT, WE WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S INVOLVED IN THAT EFFORT. SO WE'RE LOOKING, YOU KNOW WHAT, AND I, WE HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT SOME OF THE OFFERINGS YOU GUYS HAVE ON THE, THE, YOU KNOW, SPACE. UM, I WANNA SAY EXPERIMENTATION, BUT THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT WAY TO SAY IT, DAVE WAS, BUT REGARDING NATURAL, UM, EXPERIMENTS THAT OCCUR IN SPACE AND ANY LINKAGES THAT COULD BE THERE THAT POSSIBLY COULD, COULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF. OKAY. NOTHING FURTHER. MM-HMM . ALRIGHT. WE'LL MOVE ON TO, UH, ITEM NUMBER EIGHT. OTHER MATTERS. UM, DO WE HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM ROCKET LAB, MR. PAM, OR WE DO NOT HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM ROCKET LAB. WE DO HAVE, UM, A COUPLE OF, UH, UH, WRITTEN UPDATES. ONE WAS WRITTEN BY THE STAFF, AND THEN THE OTHER ONES ACTUALLY SUBMITTED BY ROCKET LAB, WHICH I BELIEVE KIND OF ENCAPSULATES THEIR ACTIVITIES OVER THE PAST YEAR. MM-HMM . UH, GOING DOWN THE LIST HERE, UH, THE ROCKET LAB UPDATES, AS I HAD MENTIONED, YOU ALL HAVE, UH, HAVE THAT IN YOUR PACKET. UH, I WILL NOT READ IT, UH, WORD FORWARD, BUT IF WE COULD JUST GET BACK IN, JUST KIND OF, UH, GENERALLY DESCRIBE THEIR, UH, THEIR, UH, THEIR HIGHLIGHTS, YOU KNOW, UH, DELIVERY OF THE FIRST NEUTRON ROCKET HARDWARE TO VIRGINIA. SO THE HUNGRY HIPPO FAIRING, UH, ACTUALLY MADE ITS WAY TO THE EASTERN SHORE VIA THE MARINE ACCESS. UH, UH, AND, AND ON THAT NOTE, WITH REGARDS TO THE SLOOP GUT DREDGING, WE HAVE APPROVED THEIR PLANS AND THEY, UH, WE ACTUALLY ASKED THEM TO START MOBILIZING IN ADVANCE OF THE PLAN APPROVAL. 'CAUSE THAT'S HOW, UH, THAT'S HOW, UH, UH, CONFIDENT WE WERE, THAT THE PLANS WERE GONNA BE APPROVED, UH, IN A TIMELY FASHION. SO, UH, THE HUNGRY HIPPO IS NOW ON THE EASTERN SHORE, UH, LC THREE WITH THE, UM, WITH THE NEW, UH, UH, LAUNCH STAND HAS BEEN, OR LAUNCHPAD HAS BEEN COMMISSIONED. IF YOU COULD SCROLL DOWN JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE. UM, LET'S SEE. UH, SPACE FORCE NATIONAL SECURITY SPACE LAUNCH PROGRAM. UH, FIRST EVER SELECTION FOR ANY VIRGINIA LAUNCH ROCKET. THEY'RE CONTINUING TO DIVERSIFY THEIR VIRGINIA OPERATIONS. AND THEY'VE, THEY JUST RECENTLY IN DECEMBER, AND OF COURSE EARLIER, UH, UH, OVER THE WEEKEND, THEY HAD THEIR 11TH ELECTRON LAUNCH, UH, UH, LAUNCH FROM VIRGINIA. BUT, UM, AGAIN, UH, THEY TALK ABOUT THEIR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES AND ABOUT THE COMPANY ITSELF. BUT AGAIN, YOU ALL HAVE THAT IN YOUR PACKET. AND THAT'S ALSO AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC SINCE THIS IS ON BOARD DOCKS. SO THAT JUST REALLY CONCLUDES THE, UH, ROCKET LAB UPDATE, WHICH PAM, LEMME MAKE ONE POINT. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF IT, IT, IT, WE DON'T HAVE AN ENTITY WITHIN THE COUNTY THAT'S, THAT'S DEDICATED TO SUPPORTING THE SPACE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY. BUT, BUT, UH, THANKS AND CONGRATULATIONS TO THE COUNTY. THEY WERE A HEAVY ROLE IN ROCKET LAB SUCCESS THIS YEAR. UM, AND IT, IT IS, IT'S BEEN A CHALLENGE. 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, IT'S, THE COUNTY'S NOT ALWAYS AT THE TOP OF PE OF THE LIST THAT PEOPLE CALL, UNFORTUNATELY, WHEN THEY'RE DOING SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT. BUT MR. PAMPER AND HIS TEAM DID A GREAT JOB OF SUPPORTING THAT. A LOT OF EFFORTS OUTTA RICHMOND AS WELL, TO MAKE SURE TO, TO ENABLE ROCKET LAB FOR THEIR SUCCESS, UM, AND VIRGINIA SPACE AS WELL. UM, I'LL JUST ADD THAT, THAT I'M NOT CONVINCED THERE'S NOT SOME ROLE OF A SUBSET OF THIS ENTITY. I DON'T WANT TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT'S IN THE WAY, A TOW IN THE ROAD, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IS THERE A FACILITATION OR A COORDINATION ROLE OR SOMEONE ELSE TO BE THERE AND START LOOKING OUT LONG TERM ON CALENDARS AND THINGS THAT MAY INVOLVE MULTI, MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL OR MULTI GOVERNMENT ENTITIES. AND SO, FALLING BACK TO OUR PREVIOUS DISCUSSION, THROW OUT THERE MM-HMM . LEAVE IT WHERE IT IS. BUT, BUT, BUT WE NEED TO GET BETTER AT THIS. MM-HMM . WE, WE'VE GOTTA MAKE THIS A STREAMLINED PROCESS. AND SO WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE, I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE HERE TO SHARE THEIR IDEAS, UM, AS WE GO FORWARD. AND I, I ALSO SAY THAT HAVING SPOKEN WITH ROCKET LAB, THEY'RE ACTUALLY PRETTY HAPPY ABOUT THE, THE MARITIME OPERATION. OF COURSE, THEY HAD GOD'S FINAL ON THEM WITH THE WEATHER THAT DAY WHEN THEY BROUGHT THAT BEAST IN. UM, BUT I THINK FROM A VIRGINIA SPACES PERSPECTIVE, [00:35:02] YOU KNOW, AS THEY, AS, AS WE GET SO GUT DREDGED AND WE START, BUILD THAT CAPABILITY, IT'S ANOTHER CAPABILITY FROM A MARKETING PERSPECTIVE THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S GONNA BE KEY INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, TO, TO KEEP AN EYE ON. AND, AND SO, YEP. AND MR. CHAIR, I MEAN, GREAT, UH, GRATITUDE TO THE COUNTY AND TO THE STATE FOR THEIR SUPPORT OF, UH, GETTING THAT DONE. AS YOU KNOW, THERE'S GONNA BE FOUR MORE BARGES THAT ARE NEEDED FOR THAT FIRST ROCKET. AND, UM, SO THIS IS REALLY AN IMPORTANT ENABLING CAPABILITY WE WERE TALKING ABOUT FOR LAUNCH AND FOR OTHER TYPES OF MISSIONS. YES. THAT VIRGINIA WILL, WILL DO. OKAY, MR. PAM. OKAY. SPACE CENTER AUSTRALIA IS UP NEXT, UH, ON FEBRUARY 10TH OF THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR. AND I RECEIVED AN UPDATE FROM JAMES PALMER, THE CEO AND CO-FOUNDER OF SPACE CENTER AUSTRALIA ON THEIR ACTIVITIES IN THE FIRST WEEK OF FEBRUARY, THEY RECEIVED THE KEYS TO THEIR HANGAR AND HAVE SINCE STARTED WORKING THROUGH 20 WORK PACKAGES TO BRING THE FACILITY INTO COMPLIANCE, SAFE AND OPERATIONAL CONDITION WITH LOTS OF UPGRADES. UH, THEIR LEASE IS FOR 10 YEARS. UM, LET'S SEE, AND WHAT ELSE DO WE HAVE? OH, YEAH. THEY EXPECT RECRUITMENT FOR VARIOUS POSITIONS TO START IN JULY AND RUN THROUGH DECEMBER. THEY'VE ALSO ACTIVATED THEIR BASE OF SUPPLY CONTRACTORS AND ARE NOW PLANNING THEIR PROCUREMENT FRONT DOOR. SO, UH, UH, THEY'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE BEEN WORKING QUIETLY, BUT STEADILY OVER THE PAST YEAR OR SO. THE LAST TIME THAT WE HEARD FROM SPACE CENTER AUSTRALIA WAS REALLY, UH, UH, CLOSER TO THE BEGINNING OF LAST SUMMER. AND, AND WE KNEW THAT THEY WERE, THAT THEY WERE COMING AND THAT THEY HAD A LOT OF WORK TO DO, BUT WE DID WANT TO TOUCH BASE WITH THEM, WHICH WE DID A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. AND, UM, HE WAS VERY PLEASED TO HEAR FROM US AS, AS WE WERE FROM HIM. AND, UH, AS YOU CAN SEE, THEY'VE GOT A LOT PLANNED FOR THE SPRING AND THE SUMMER LEADING ON INTO, UH, LEADING ON INTO, UH, DECEMBER. SO THAT CONCLUDES THAT, UH, UH, THAT UPDATE ELITE. DO, DO WE HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT KIND OF POSITIONS THEY'RE RECRUITING FOR? WHAT AREAS OF FOCUS THAT THEY ARE? I IMAGINE EVERYTHING FROM, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM SUPPORT STAFF TO TECHNICIANS TO, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, TO ADMINISTRATORS. HE DID NOT GET, HE DIDN'T REALLY SPECIFIC INTO IT, BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE A GREAT NEED FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR PROPERLY TRAINED, UH, UH, TECHNICIANS AS HE, HE DID NOT GIVE US A NUMBER ON HOW MANY THAT THEY WOULD BE RECRUITING. BUT, UH, I IMAGINE THAT IF WE ASKED HIM THAT HE WOULD BE FORTHCOMING THAT THAT MIGHT BE GOOD TO KNOW, TO SEE HOW WE CAN SUPPORT THAT EFFORT FROM THIS FRONT. MR. CHAIR IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE C ONE THIRTIES. UM, THEY JUST HAVE SECURED THREE C ONE THIRTIES IN THE, UH, UNITED KINGDOM. THEY EXPECT TO HAVE THEM HERE BY DECEMBER. AND SO I CAN IMAGINE THAT THEY WOULD BE, UM, AIRCRAFT RELATED TECHNICIANS THAT COULD SUPPORT AND OR PILOTS TO SUPPORT THEIR OPERATIONS. THAT'S A GOOD NEWS STORY. THAT'S KIND OF, PEOPLE ARE AROUND WITH THOSE SKILLS OR EXACTLY, MM-HMM . SOME REFRESHER CHANGE. YEAH. AND, AND, AND THOSE C ONE THIRTIES WILL NEED TO BE, UH, RETOOLED AND RATED FOR FLIGHT IN THE UNITED STATES. 'CAUSE RIGHT NOW THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE RATED FOR FLIGHT IN THE UK BUT WHEN THEY COME HERE, IT'S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. LIKE I SAID BEFORE, U KC ONE 30 FOR SOME OF THE BEST ONES I EVER FLEW ON SITE. SO AT LEAST I THINK THEY, AT LEAST THEY GOT A GOOD PLATFORM TO START FROM. SO NEXT WE HAVE VIRGINIA SPACE UPDATES END, AS I HAD MENTIONED BEFORE, WE'VE GOT, UH, RYAN KENNEDY AND, UH, CARTER BIRCH WITH US TODAY TO, UH, TO PROVIDE THAT UPDATE. SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND YIELD THE PODIUM TO, UH, TO, UH, A VIRGINIA SPACE STAFF FOR THEIR UPDATE. THANKS. HEY, EVERYBODY, THANKS FOR HAVING US. I'M, UH, RYAN KENNEDY. I'M OUR DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS AT VIRGINIA SPACE PORT AUTHORITY. UM, I WEAR A FEW DIFFERENT HATS FOR US, UH, ON THE PROGRAM SIDE. I, I WAS PRETTY ENCOURAGED TO HEAR, UH, YOU KNOW, CONVERSATION WITH MR. PIERCE ABOUT NATIONAL SECURITY. AND A LOT OF THE COMMERCIAL FOLKS THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING, UH, DO HAVE A VERY ACTIVE UAS AIRFIELD RIGHT NOW. WE HAD A, WE HAD A GREAT WEEK LAST WEEK WITH A GOOD COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER REPRESENTING A, A PRETTY CRITICAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM. MM-HMM . UH, OUR, OUR SPACE LAUNCHES RECENTLY HAVE BEEN, UH, SUPPORTING, UH, ACROSS DOW AND, UH, YOU KNOW, REALLY BOLSTERING THAT NATIONAL SECURITY MISSION. SO I THINK, UH, LIKE YOU SAID, THERE'S GREAT CONNECTIVE TISSUE BETWEEN ALL OF THE GROUPS HERE. MM-HMM . UM, SO THAT'S, UH, ONE SIDE, ONE SIDE OF MY JOB. ANOTHER IS, UH, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. SO REALLY CRITICAL TO THIS CONVERSATION TODAY IS HOW WE CAN ATTRACT, UH, NOT ONLY CUSTOMERS, BUT THE RIGHT CUSTOMERS FOR, [00:40:01] UM, FOR THAT AREA. MM-HMM . UH, BECAUSE, UH, AS WE'RE AWARE, I MEAN, THERE'S JUST REALLY GREAT OPPORTUNITY WITHIN THE WALLOPS RESEARCH PARK THAT, UM, DOESN'T EXIST ANYWHERE ELSE IN, UH, IN OUR REGIONAL ECOSYSTEM. UH, AND THEN THE THIRD PILLAR OF MY, UH, WORK AT VIRGINIA SPACE IS PLANNING. UH, SO YOU GUYS WE'RE HAVING A GREAT, UH, DISCUSSION ABOUT MASTER PLANNING. UM, UH, AND I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH, UH, MR. MASON AND MR. PAM BID, UH, AND THE COUNTY, UM, I'M EXCITED TO SAY VIRGINIA SPACEPORT AUTHORITY. WE ARE STEPPING IN EARNEST RIGHT NOW INTO A SIGNIFICANT MASTER PLANNING EFFORT FOR OURSELVES AT THE MID-ATLANTIC REGIONAL SPACEPORT, UH, HERE AT WALLOPS ISLAND. SO, UH, I'M SPEARHEADING, UH, REALLY, UH, IT'S A, IT'S A 20 YEAR OUTLOOK FOR OUR EXISTING ASSETS AND, UH, AREAS THAT WE THINK WE'RE GONNA GROW INTO, AREAS THAT WE HAVE GROWN INTO ALREADY, UH, HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO, UH, NOT ONLY SUPPORT THE, THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY, BUT OUR, OUR REGIONAL ECONOMY BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DO HAVE A STATUTORY OBLIGATION AT THE VIRGINIA SPACE BOARD AUTHORITY TO DRIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, HERE ON THE EASTERN SHORE AND FOR THE COMMONWEALTH. SO, UH, I'M REALLY DELIGHTED TO BE HERE TODAY. I THINK THAT THIS, THIS IS JUST A, A REALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, GREAT SUPPLEMENT TO THE CONVERSATION YOU'RE ALREADY HAVING. SO I'LL STEP THROUGH SOME SLIDES, BUT PLEASE INTERRUPT ME. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, WE CAN DISCUSS AS NEEDED. SO WHO IS VSA? UM, I THINK YOU'RE ALL PROBABLY AWARE OF THAT, BUT JUST, UH, AS A, AS A REFRESHER, UH, THE VIRGINIA SPACE BOARD AUTHORITY, WE ARE A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE COMMONWEALTH. UH, AND AS I JUST MENTIONED A COUPLE MOMENTS AGO, YOU KNOW, WE DO PROMOTE, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH AEROSPACE ACTIVITY. SO THAT'S NOT JUST SPACE LAUNCH, BUT THAT'S, UH, ALONG THE FULL, UH, WHAT WE CALL THE, THE VALUE CHAIN OF, UH, LAUNCH SERVICES. YOU KNOW, SO, UH, MR. PIERCE WAS, UH, TALKING ABOUT PAYLOAD PROCESSING THAT IS, UH, WITHIN THAT VALUE CHAIN OF LAUNCH SERVICES. MM. UH, YOU KNOW, UAS IS ANOTHER GOOD EXAMPLE OF AEROSPACE RELATED ACTIVITY. SO, UH, WE ARE REALLY, UH, TRYING TO, TO CAST A WIDE APERTURE OF HOW WE CAN SUPPORT, UH, HERE, UM, NOT JUST, UH, WITH OUR COLLEAGUES AT NASA, BUT, BUT WITH, UH, WITHIN AKAMAK AND, AND WITH ALL OF THE OTHER ENTITIES, UH, WITH INTERESTS HERE. SO WE'RE HEADQUARTERED IN NORFOLK. UH, SO WE HAVE, UH, A LIMITED NUMBER OF STAFF DOWN IN NORFOLK. THAT'S MOSTLY OUR C-SUITE AND SOME OF OUR, UM, EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATION. UH, I, UH, ALONG WITH COLLEAGUE CARTER HERE AND, AND ABOUT 120 OTHER FOLKS, WE SIT HERE, UM, AT THE SPACEPORT AT WALLOPS ISLAND. UM, SO A MAJORITY OF OUR STAFF IS, IS HERE AT MARS. UH, WE ARE A COMMERCIAL SPACEPORT LOCATED AT A FEDERAL SITE. UM, AS MR. PIERCE MENTIONED, THERE'S REALLY ONLY, UH, FOUR PUBLIC US SPACEPORTS THAT ARE LICENSED FOR VERTICAL LAUNCH TO ORBIT. WE ARE ONE OF THEM. UH, WE ARE THE THIRD BUSIEST SPACEPORT IN THE COUNTRY. AND, UH, AND THAT CADENCE IS INCREASING, UH, EVERY REALLY, EVERY QUARTER. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. IS VANDENBERG FOUR? UH, YES. SO THE SPACEPORTS ARE THE CAPE, UH, MARS, UH, VANDENBERG AND KODIAK. SO, UH, UH, THE CAPE DID OVER 120 LAUNCHES LAST YEAR. VANDENBERG DID NORTH OF 70. UH, OKAY. SO KODIAK'S, YEAH. YEAH, KODIAK, IT WOULD BE FOUR, UH, IN THAT LIST. BUT KODIAK'S ALSO SUPPORTING, UH, A GREAT MISSION UP THERE AS WELL AS, AS ANOTHER, UH, COMPLIMENTARY TEST RANGE TO WHAT WE DO HERE ON THE EAST COAST. SO, I TALKED ABOUT OUR MISSION A BIT, UM, JUST WANTED TO REALLY HIGHLIGHT THAT IT GOES BEYOND, UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING ON THE LAUNCH PADS AND OUR, UH, YOU KNOW, SERVICE FACILITIES. BUT IT DOES, UH, GO INTO STEM, UH, EDUCATION IS, IS CRUCIAL TO WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR ALL THE REASONS THAT, UH, YOU GUYS HAVE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT FOR THE LAST, UH, 30 MINUTES OR SO. UH, BEING ABLE TO SUSTAIN, UH, REALLY DEVELOP AND SUSTAIN THAT PIPELINE OF SKILLED WORK IS CRITICAL TO WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE. UM, IF OUR CEO, UH, WAS HERE RIGHT NOW, GENERAL MERCER WOULD SAY, UH, HE IS DELIGHTED. WHEN SOMEBODY COMES THROUGH THE RANKS OF VIRGINIA SPACE BOARD AUTHORITY AND THEN MOVES ON TO ANOTHER COMPANY WITHIN AEROSPACE, HE, HE FEELS LIKE THAT IS A SUCCESS STORY. SO, UH, IN THE SAME WAY THAT, UH, THAT WE ARE REALLY PULLING FROM HIGHER EDUCATION, UH, WE DO HOPE THAT WE ARE AN ENABLER FOR, UH, THE LARGER ECOSYSTEM TO BRING SKILLED TALENT INTO THE, UH, INTO THE WORKFORCE. NEXT SLIDE. UH, SO THERE IS A VIDEO, UH, NO GOOD PRESENTATION GOES WITHOUT A VIDEO, SO, UH, WE'LL PLAY THIS. [00:46:20] VERY NICE. AND IF YOU ENJOYED THAT, UH, THAT'S ALL, THAT'S ALL. CARTER BIRCH BACK HERE. SO, GOOD JOB. THANK YOU, CARTER. ALRIGHT, SO, UH, I, I JUST BRIEFLY MENTIONED, UH, LAUNCH CADENCE. IT'S GROWING. IT'S ON, IT'S ON EVERYBODY'S MIND. SO, UH, OPERATIONALLY SPEAKING, OUR TEMPO IS INCREASING. UM, MR. PIERCE ALLUDED TO THAT AS WELL. UH, WE DID REACH, UH, 30 LAUNCHES IN OUR 30TH YEAR OF OPERATIONS. SO WE WERE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IN, IN MY JOB JAR, IT'S, IT'S TRYING TO LOOK FORWARD AND, AND TALK TO OUR CUSTOMERS AND, AND OUR GREAT COLLEAGUES AT NASA AS WELL, AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE THE DEMANDS THAT'S GONNA COME TO THE SPACE BOARD, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT JUST OUR DEMANDS ALONE, THEY'RE ALSO DEMANDS ON THE RANGE. THERE'S DEMANDS LOCALLY HERE FOR, UH, LODGING AND INFRASTRUCTURE. IT'S NOT JUST, UH, OUR PROBLEM. IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN WORK THROUGH TOGETHER. AND AGAIN, UH, REGARDING THE SCOPE OF THIS MEETING, I, I DO BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE GREAT POTENTIAL AT THE WALLOPS RESEARCH PARK AND OTHER AREAS TO, TO REALLY START TO ALLEVIATE SOME OF THE PRESSURES THAT WE'RE GONNA FACE DOWN RANGE HERE WHEN WE, WHEN WE DO GET UP TO, UH, 30 40 BEYOND LAUNCHES, UH, PER YEAR. BECAUSE, UH, MAKE NO MISTAKE, IT IS, IT IS COMING. SO, NEXT SLIDE. UH, IF, IF ROCKET LAB WERE HERE, THEY, THEY WOULD'VE, UH, DISCUSSED IT, IT'S IN YOUR PACKETS, BUT, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE VERY PROUD TO HAVE COMPLETED OUR SCOPE ON THE PAD ZERO D CONSTRUCTION, WHAT THEY CALL LC THREE. UH, THEIR LAUNCH COMPLEX THREE IS, UH, IT'S GONNA BE HOME TO THE, THE NEUTRON ROCKET. UH, REALLY WHAT THAT'S GONNA DO FOR, UM, NOT JUST, UH, THOSE OF US IN THIS ROOM, BUT, UH, AS A NATIONAL ASSET, UH, IT'S GOING TO, UH, ON RAMP, UH, THE CAPABILITY FOR, UH, THE MID-ATLANTIC REGIONAL SPACEPORT AND OUR CUSTOMERS AND OUR COLLEAGUES AT NASA TO SUPPORT THE NSSL, UH, MISSION, THE NATIONAL SECURITY SPACE LAUNCH MISSION. SO, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S A VERY CRITICAL CORNERSTONE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING ON ORBIT. AND, UM, WE'RE VERY PROUD THAT, UH, NEUTRON IS GOING TO BE, UH, COMPETING ON THAT CONTRACT. WE ARE ALSO EXPECTING ANOTHER CUSTOMER OF OURS TO BE COMPETITIVE ON THAT CONTRACT HERE IN THE NEXT, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, ONE TO TWO YEARS. SO I DO BELIEVE THAT WE WILL HAVE GREAT OPTIONS FOR THE NATION HERE, UH, AT MARS, AS WE ALREADY DO, BUT WE'RE EXPANDING, UH, EXPANDING WHAT'S POSSIBLE HERE FOR, UH, NATIONAL SECURITY SPACE LAUNCH, UH, BEGINNING WITH NEUTRON. UH, SO WE'RE EXCITED TO, UH, TO SEE THAT VEHICLE, UH, LEAVE, UH, LEAVE THE PAD, UH, LATER THIS YEAR. NEXT SLIDE. OKAY. SO, UH, SOME, SOME STRATEGIC ACQUISITIONS THAT WE'VE MADE. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, GRAHAM, YOU, YOU WERE MENTIONING A COUPLE OF THE GRANTS. UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT GO VIRGINIA AND V-B-R-S-P AND SOME OF THE VARIOUS GRANTS TO, TO KIND OF GET OUR READINESS AND OUR SITE CHARACTERIZATION UP, UH, AS IT APPLIES TO SEVERAL OF THESE SITES, RIGHT? SO, ON THE LEFT HAND, UM, YOU GUYS ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE, THE, UH, THAT FACILITY, YOU'VE PROBABLY DRIVEN BY IT A THOUSAND TIMES. UH, PROBABLY MORE, UH, WHAT WE ARE NOW CALLING THE LAUNCH TEAM MAINTENANCE FACILITY. IT, IT'S GETTING A NEW LEASE ON LIFE, RIGHT? SO THAT 150,000 SQUARE FOOT FACILITY THAT WAS, UH, MAINLY DOING, UH, SEAFOOD PROCESSING AND DISTRIBUTION IS NOW GOING TO BE, UH, AN ASSET FOR THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY. UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE EVERYTHING FROM ADMINISTRATIVE SPACES TO, UH, A MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT FOR PAYLOAD PROCESSING IN THERE. UH, YOU KNOW, PAYLOADS THAT DON'T REQUIRE HIGH DEGREE OF CLEANLINESS OR SECURITY CONCERNS CAN, CAN ABSOLUTELY GO IN THERE. UH, WE'LL ALSO HAVE SPACE FOR OUR LAUNCH TEAM, UM, TO BE ABLE TO MOVE OFF THE ISLAND INTO MORE DEDICATED HOUSING, UH, IN THE FUTURE. AND, UH, WE'LL ALSO HAVE LOGISTICS SPACE BECAUSE, UH, AS, AS OUR COLLECTIVE ASSETS GROW, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT FACILITIES. UH, WE NEED BIGGER WAREHOUSING SPACE IN A, IN A BETTER LOGISTICS SPACE. UH, SO THAT [00:50:01] FACILITY WILL ACCOMPLISH THAT FOR US. UM, THE MIDDLE IMAGE HERE, UH, WHAT WE ARE CALLING THE MARS AND INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX EXPANSION AREA, SO FORMALLY, UH, AND WE STILL REFER TO IT AS THE DARBY FARM , UH, BUT, UH, THAT MIC EXPANSION AREA IS MORE THAN 600 ACRES. THAT REALLY, UH, UNLOCKS A LOT OF VALUE FOR US IN THE FUTURE. AND, AND TRULY A LOT OF VALUE FOR EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM. UM, SO, UH, THAT, THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT SITE TO, IN MY MIND, COMPLIMENT THE WALLOPS RESEARCH PARK AND OTHER AREAS AS WELL. UM, SO BEING ABLE TO STAGE, UH, PRETTY CRITICAL, MAYBE MORE SENSITIVE OR HAZARDOUS ACTIVITIES, UH, IN, IN THIS AREA, UM, WOULD BE, UH, BENEFICIAL. BECAUSE, AGAIN, WHEN I TALK ABOUT NOT JUST GETTING CUSTOMERS TO THE WALLOPS RESEARCH PARK, BUT THE RIGHT CUSTOMERS, IT'S THE SAME, UM, SAME QUESTION FOR THIS, UH, FOR THIS PARCEL AS WELL. MAKING SURE THAT THE 600 ACRES OUT HERE IS, UH, IS USED APPROPRIATELY. AND, UH, AND WITH, WITH, UH, ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS IN MIND. SO, WHEN I MENTIONED THAT MASTER PLANNING EXERCISE, WE ARE REALLY ASKING A LOT OF, UM, DIFFICULT QUESTIONS ON A LONGER HORIZON, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UM, SET UP WELL HERE. UH, BECAUSE AGAIN, ONCE WE HIT CADENCE AND WE GET BUSIER AND BUSIER, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE THE ABILITY TO GO BACK AND, AND TRY AGAIN. THE, UH, ASSEMBLY INTEGRATION AND TEST FACILITY IS ACTUALLY, UM, THE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE CENTER PICTURE, AGAIN, THE VERY TOP YELLOW BOX IN THE CENTER OF YOUR SCREEN, UH, ADJACENT TO THE NASA WALLOPS FLIGHT FACILITY GATE IS KNOWN AS THE A IT SITE. UM, SO, UH, AGAIN, UH, ROCKET LAB IS OCCUPYING THAT SITE, AND THAT'S PRIMARILY THE HOME FOR THEIR, UH, NEUTRON OPERATIONS. UH, SO THE HUNGRY HIPPO FERRYING IS IN THAT, UH, BLACK BUILDING WITH A WHITE ROOF THERE. UH, AND THEY WILL BE, UH, GETTING READY FOR THEIR, UH, FIRST MISSION, UH, FROM THAT SITE THAT IS, UH, OWNED BY VIRGINIA SPACE BOARD AUTHORITY. AND WE DO LEASE IT BACK TO ROCKET LAB. NEXT SLIDE. OKAY. SO, JUST A QUICK NOTE ABOUT OUR WORKFORCE, BECAUSE, UH, AGAIN, I THINK IT'S, IT'S PRETTY IMPORTANT TO NOTE. UM, YOU KNOW, NASA HAS A TREMENDOUS CAPABILITY, UH, AT WALLOPS. UM, ROCKET LAB HAS A TREMENDOUS CAPABILITY AT WALLOPS. ALL THESE CUSTOMERS ARE BRINGING FOLKS HERE. UH, WE DO HAVE, UH, A GOOD, UH, CAPABILITY WITHIN OUR WORKFORCE AT VIRGINIA SPACE AS WELL. UH, 33% WOMEN, UM, 16%, INCLUDING CARTER BACK HERE, FORMER INTERNS AND 14% VETERANS. SO, UH, AGAIN, WHAT WHAT WE SEE OURSELVES DOING IS NOT JUST SERVING AS A CAREER, BUT ALSO A LAUNCH POINT, THAT AS CUSTOMERS COME IN, AS NEW STAKEHOLDERS ARRIVE, UH, WE ARE PROVIDING THAT, THAT SKILLED OPPORTUNITY TO, TO GROW AND LEARN IN THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AS OTHER OPPORTUNITIES COME UP, UH, WE, WE SEE OURSELVES AS PART OF THAT PIPELINE, UH, STEM EDUCATION. UH, SO, UH, REALLY PROUD TO SAY THAT, UH, WE'VE GOT, UH, AN AMAZING, UH, EDUCATION PROGRAM GOING AT VIRGINIA SPACE, UH, PROMOTING EDUCATION AND, AND R AND D, UM, THROUGH, UH, THE K THROUGH 12, UH, PROGRAMS. WE, WE REALLY ARE TRYING TO, UM, COME INTO, UH, FOLKS' LIVES, UH, AT AN EARLY, AT AN EARLY POINT, AND CAPTURE THEIR INTEREST EARLY ON, UH, BEFORE, YOU KNOW, UM, THEY MIGHT GET INVOLVED IN SOMETHING ELSE. SO, UH, AGAIN, I'LL JUST, UH, GO BACK TO OUR INTERN PROGRAM. IT'S, IT'S VERY SUCCESSFUL. WE HAVE A LOT OF, UM, GREAT PARTNERSHIPS WITH HIGHER EDUCATION ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH. UM, I WOULD SAY A MAJORITY OF OUR DIRECTOR LEVEL AND ABOVE, UM, HAVE COME THROUGH OUR INTERN PROGRAM. SO IT, IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN AN AMAZING LAUNCHPAD FOR, UH, MANY CAREERS HERE AT VIRGINIA SPACE, AS YOU SEE, UH, PARTNERSHIPS WITH 16 VIRGINIA COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. UM, AND THAT, UH, 16% OF EMPLOYEES ARE FORMER INTERNS, INCLUDING, UM, A GOOD PORTION OF OUR LEADERSHIP. UH, WE WERE RECOGNIZED THIS YEAR, UH, BY THE VIRGINIA TALENT AND OPPORTUNITY PARTNERSHIP AS A TOP EMPLOYER FOR INTERNS IN THE STATE. SO I'M PRETTY PROUD OF THAT. NEXT SLIDE. THANK YOU. UM, SO THAT WAS MY, THAT WAS MY PRESENTATION TODAY. I'M HAPPY TO, UH, ANSWER ANY OF THE QUESTIONS. BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR CURRENT, OUR CURRENT POSITION IS, UH, IS VERY OPTIMISTIC. WE'RE INCREDIBLY EXCITED FOR WHAT'S AHEAD AND, UH, WE'RE REALLY PROUD TO HAVE THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH, WITH THIS GROUP WITHIN THE WALLOPS RESEARCH PARK. WE FIND TREMENDOUS, TREMENDOUS POTENTIAL IN THE, IN, IN THE GROWTH THERE. AND, AND I KNOW OUR CURRENT CUSTOMER, ROCKET LAB IS, IS VERY PLEASED WITH THEIR DECISION TO, TO PUT THE INTEGRATION CONTROL FACILITY IN THE WALLOPS RESEARCH PARK AS THE HOME OF ELECTRON. UM, SO AGAIN, I'M REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT TODAY, AND I'M HAPPY TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION. QUESTIONS, DO YOU LIVE LOCALLY? I ACTUALLY LIVE IN OCEAN CITY. IN OCEAN CITY, YEAH. THAT'S A COMMUTE EVERY DAY. UH, I'M FROM DC ORIGINALLY, SO IT'S ACTUALLY PRETTY EASY. . SO, SO I WAS, I WAS GONNA GO DOWN THAT ROAD. I MEAN, HOW'D YOU FIND YOUR WAY HERE, IF YOU DON'T MIND IF I ASK? YEAH, SURE. UH, GREW UP, UH, JUST OUTSIDE OF DC. ENDED UP GOING TO COLLEGE THERE, DID, WORKED ON CAPITOL HILL, DID, DID THAT WHOLE THING FOR A BIT. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AS, AS ANY GOOD STORY GOES, [00:55:01] I MET SOMEBODY, UH, SO MY WIFE IS FROM, UH, OCEAN CITY. SHE'S SIXTH GENERATION UP THERE. SO SHE WASN'T LEAVING, UH, HARD TO, HARD TO WORK ON THE HILL FROM THERE. SO, UH, BECAME A DEFENSE CONTRACTOR, WAS TRAVELING AROUND THE WORLD DOING THAT, STARTED HAVING KIDS AND DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO, TO, TO COME TO THE SPACE BOARD. , I THINK OUR EASTERN SHORE WOMEN ARE SOME OF OUR BEST RECRUITING TOOLS, ACTUALLY. , I CAN VOUCH FOR THAT. THAT'S A FAMILIAR STORY. I WAS JUST GONNA GO, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS LOOKING AT YOUR WORKFORCE AND RECRUITING OUTSIDE, I MEAN, ARE, ARE THERE ANY AREAS, I MEAN, IS THE DC AREA A PRIMARY PLACE OF EMPHASIS FOR YOUR WORKFORCE, OR? I WOULD SAY IT'S, UH, HISTORICALLY A PRETTY SMALL NEED FOR US. UH, TRULY, UH, OUR NEEDS ARE EVOLVING. SO A LOT OF, UH, OUR TECHNICIANS ARE, ARE LOCAL FOLKS. UH, THEY'VE, THEY'VE GROWN UP HERE. I MEAN, CARTER IS FROM SHIITE, LIVES IN NEW CHURCH. UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF OUR STAFF IS STILL BORN AND BRED LOCAL FOLKS. I THINK AS WE START TO EXPAND INTO MAYBE WHAT I WOULD CALL BEYOND SKILLED LABOR, BECAUSE I ACTUALLY DON'T THINK WHAT I DO IS SKILLED AT ALL. UH, YOU KNOW, I, I'M NOT, UH, I'M NOT TECH SMART. UM, I ENJOY WHAT I DO, BUT YOU, YOU COULD HAVE PICKED ME UP ANYWHERE. UM, SO WHAT WE NEED NOW IS AN EVOLVING THING. AND, UH, I THINK MY EXPERIENCE, ESPECIALLY IN THE DEFENSE CONTRACTING REALM, IS HELPFUL FOR WHAT I DO NOW. BUT, UH, WE REALLY, UH, ARE PUSHING AS, AS MUCH AS WE CAN BACK TO THE CUSTOMERS TO ENABLE THEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL. SO, JUST TO, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION MORE POINTEDLY, I THINK WHAT WE'RE GONNA NEED IS REALLY A STRONG AND STEADY PROGRAM AND PROJECT MANAGERS THAT CAN HELP US LAY ON THE CAPABILITIES, UH, SO THAT WE CAN, UH, SUPPLEMENT WITH NASA AND BE ABLE TO PROVIDE OUR CUSTOMERS THE BEST POSSIBLE FOOTPRINT AND THE BEST POSSIBLE CAPABILITIES THAT THEN THEY CAN SCALE FROM. SO US PUTTING IN PAYLOAD PROCESSING SOLUTIONS, US PUTTING IN, YOU KNOW, ENHANCED RANGE CAPABILITIES, US PUTTING IN ALL SORTS OF THINGS, UH, THAT WOULD ALLOW OUR CUSTOMERS TO REALLY COME IN, SET UP, SHOP AND DO WHAT THEY DO WITHOUT HAVING TO PROVIDE ALL THAT CAPITAL UPFRONT IS, IS OUR GOAL. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE, THE GREATEST HURDLE TO GETTING BUSINESSES TO COME INTO WORK WITH VIRGINIA SPACE OR USE OUR, UH, OUR ECOSYSTEM? YEAH, THAT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE, UM, I, I HAVE, I HAVE TREMENDOUS, UH, POSITIVE CONVERSATIONS ACTUALLY JUST, UH, CAME FROM ONE THIS MORNING AT OUR PAYLOAD PROCESSING FACILITY WHERE I WAS, UH, SPEAKING WITH A PROGRAM THAT, THAT THEY JUST TRULY DIDN'T KNOW THAT, UH, VIRGINIA SPACE, UH, COMBINED WITH NASA HAD THESE CAPABILITIES HERE AT WALLOPS ISLAND. I THINK HISTORICALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST THOUGHT OF THAT THE CAPE IS THE EAST COAST SOLUTION FOR LAUNCH, RIGHT? AND SO WHEN PROGRAMS COME AND WHEN CUSTOMERS COME, I TYPICALLY FIND THAT THEY'RE PRETTY BLOWN AWAY WITH THE AMOUNT OF CAPABILITY THAT WE'VE, UH, GOT IN THIS ECOSYSTEM. SO I WOULD SAY, UH, THE BIGGEST HURDLE TO BUSINESS AT THIS POINT IS PROBABLY EXPOSURE, UH, AND UNDERSTANDING THAT, UH, THE MID-ATLANTIC REGIONAL SPACEPORT CAN MEET MANY REQUIREMENTS. UH, WE ARE NOT YET AT A PLACE WHERE WE CAN SUPPORT HEAVY LAUNCH. AND WHEN I SAY HEAVY LAUNCH, I'M THINKING MORE OF LIKE THE FALCON NINES THAT YOU SEE, JUST, I THINK TWO IN THE PAST TWO DAYS HAVE COME OUT OF THE CAPE. I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY HAS SEEN IT. UH, THE JELLYFISH, UH, ACTUALLY GOT A REALLY GOOD JELLYFISH THIS MORNING ON MY RUN AT LIKE FIVE 30 THIS MORNING. YOU COULD SEE IT. UM, SO ANYWAY, UH, I DIGRESS. WHAT WE'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW IS, UH, CUSTOMERS COME HERE AND THEY MEET WITH NASA AND THEY MEET WITH VIRGINIA SPACE, AND THEY ARE, WOW, WE COULD DO THIS HERE. SO I THINK THE BIGGEST HURDLE FOR US TRULY IS JUST THAT EXPOSURE. OKAY, WELL, THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN ACTUALLY HELP WITH. SO THAT'S ENCOURAGING. YEAH. MM-HMM . UM, AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO SAY AND MEET WITH WALLACE RESEARCH LEADERSHIP COUNCIL ABSOLUTELY. TO, TO SEE THE TABLE. AND I WILL SAY, YOU KNOW, EVERY TIME, AND AGAIN, AS PUTTING MY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT HAT BACK ON, EVERY TIME THAT WE GET A CUSTOMER TO COME, UH, I, I MAKE A POINT TO TAKE THEM BY THE WALLOPS RESEARCH PARK. AND, AND I MAKE A POINT TO, TO INCLUDE NASA IN THAT AND, AND INCLUDE AKAMAK IN THAT BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S TRULY, UH, PROVIDING SOME PRETTY TREMENDOUS CAPABILITY. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I EVEN THINK THAT THAT TAXIWAY EXTENSION COMING INTO THE PROPERTY IS, IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED. AND I THINK THAT THAT'S GONNA BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR SOMEBODY, UH, ESPECIALLY IN THE MORE TRADITIONAL AEROSPACE, UH, REALM TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, SO, RIGHT. YEAH, I THINK I, I AGREE. I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S DEFINITELY AN OPPORTUNITY. AND JUST TO GRAHAM'S POINT, NOT TO BE OVERLOOKED, UH, THE READINESS OF THE SITE IS VERY ATTRACTIVE TO FOLKS AS WELL. UM, BECAUSE AGAIN, IT'S, YOU'RE, YOU'RE NOT DEALING WITH, UH, YOU'RE NOT DEALING WITH SOYBEANS AND CORN. YOU'RE DEALING WITH A, A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN REALLY COME IN AND THAT'S ALREADY GOT SOME CAPITAL EXPENSE TAKEN CARE OF, SO MM-HMM . I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT YOU GUYS DO WITH A MASTER PLAN. LET US KNOW IF WE CAN BE HELPFUL IN THAT. WELL, AND THAT WAS MY OTHER QUESTION. I MEAN, WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO, I KNOW THERE, THEY'RE SEPARATE ENTITIES, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THERE'S A LINKAGE, RIGHT? SO WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO FROM OUR MASS? AND YOU GUYS ARE FARTHER ALONG CLEARLY, BUT YOU HAVE OUR EXISTING PLAN, YOU KNOW, IS THERE ANY PLACES THAT THERE'S CONNECTIONS IN THOSE PLANNING ASPECTS? YEAH, I MEAN, MIKE, I'LL [01:00:01] LET YOU TAKE THIS TOO, BUT I DON'T WANNA SPEAK TOO MUCH FOR YOU. BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, ON OUR MASTER PLAN, IT, IT'S CRITICAL TO HAVE FEEDBACK, NOT ONLY FROM OUR CUSTOMERS, BUT FROM MACK. AND SO WE'VE, WE'VE, UH, STARTED TO ENGAGE WITH, WITH MACK ON OUR PLAN. AND, AND JUST THE SAME, I I WOULD ENCOURAGE, UH, WHEN, WHEN YOU GUYS, UH, GET YOURS OFF THE GROUND, WE, WE WOULD LOVE TO PROVIDE INPUTS, UM, JUST ON THE WALLOPS RESEARCH PARK PORTION. WE, WE DO INTEND TO SHOW, UH, THE AVAILABILITY AND CAPABILITY OF THE WALLOPS RESEARCH PARK WITHIN OUR MASTER PLAN. RIGHT. WITHOUT SPEAKING FOR IT. SO JUST, UH, FOR FULL TRANSPARENCY, WE DO WANT TO SHOW THAT IT'S AN AREA THAT CAN BE, UH, GROWN INTO SO WELL, AND IT DEFINITELY AUGMENTS YOU EVEN TODAY, AS YOU SAID. ABSOLUTELY. WITH THE, WITH THE READINESS OF THE SITES, SO, AND THE ACCESS. ABSOLUTELY. ESPECIALLY IF THEY WANTED TO BE NEAR THE AIRFIELD. MM-HMM . MM-HMM . YEAH. UM, ONE OTHER QUESTION, AND THEN I, I TALKED ALL DAY. YEAH. UM, NO ONE'S MENTIONED FIREFLY TODAY. IS, IS THAT STILL AN EXPECTED CUSTOMER OR, YEAH. UM, UH, DID YOU, UH, INQUIRE FIREFLY FOR ANY FEEDBACK? I'M HAPPY TO GIVE SOME FEEDBACK ON, ON THEIR BEHALF. I DON'T THINK THEY HAVE MINE. GOOD. ME TOO. YEAH, PLEASE DO. UM, YEAH, SO FIREFLY, UM, THEY ACTUALLY, UH, HAVE A VEHICLE SITTING ON THE PAD AT VANDENBERG RIGHT NOW. THEY'RE READY FOR THEIR SEVENTH LAUNCH. UH, THEY'RE JUST WAITING OUT SOME, SOME BAD WEATHER ON THE WESTERN RANGE, SO WE'RE ROOTING HARD FOR THEM. UH, THEY'LL, THEY'LL HAVE THEIR SEVENTH ALPHA LAUNCH HERE, UH, ANY DAY NOW. UM, SO I THINK THEY'RE GETTING THROUGH SOME, UH, OPERATIONS RIGHT NOW WITH THAT. AND THEN, UH, YOU KNOW, WE DO EXPECT TO HAVE THEM HERE, UH, IN 2026, UH, AT, AT MINIMUM TESTING, IF NOT LAUNCHING THEIR ALPHA VEHICLE OFF OF PAD ZERO A, UH, WE'VE BEEN WELL UNDERWAY ON PRETTY EXTENSIVE RENOVATIONS TO PAD ZERO A, WHICH IS HISTORICALLY THE, THE TERRY'S LAUNCH POINT. UH, SO WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE ON PAD ZERO A, IT'S THE FIRST LAUNCHPAD, UH, POTENTIALLY IN THE WORLD, BUT I'LL JUST KEEP IT TO AMERICA AT THIS POINT, TO LAUNCH TWO DIFFERENT VEHICLES FROM THE SAME LAUNCH POINT. THAT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS A LOT. DEFINITELY DOESN'T HAPPEN AT THE OTHER RANGES. SO WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO DO IS TAKE, UM, THE, UH, THE, THE EVOLUTION OF THE INTERS VEHICLE, WHICH WILL ULTIMATELY BE CALLED, UH, THE, UH, ECLIPSE VEHICLE. WE'LL BE ABLE TO LAUNCH THE ECLIPSE VEHICLE, WHICH IS A MEDIUM CLASS, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO LAUNCH THE FIREFLY ALPHA VEHICLE, WHICH, UH, DOES SERVE, UH, IN THAT SMALL CLASS RANGE. SO, VERY PROUD OF THE RENOVATIONS THAT ARE ONGOING ON PAD ZERO A RIGHT NOW, AND EXCITED FOR FIREFLY TO GET HERE. OH, THAT'S EXCELLENT. YEAH, SO THAT'S GOOD. YEAH, I KNEW THEY HAD ONE SITTING ON THE PAD IN VANDERBERG. YEAH, NO, WE'RE ROOTING HARD FOR THEM. UH, I THINK THAT'LL BE GREAT. AWESOME. ANYONE ELSE? ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU GUYS FOR COMING. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE THIS VERY MUCH IN THE PRESENTATION. WE HOPE TO CONTINUE THAT COLLABORATION. YEAH, LIKEWISE. THANKS AGAIN. THANKS, MR. PIERCE. IT SEEMS THAT YOU'RE ON THE SCHEDULE. DID YOU HAVE ANY UPDATES? I CAN, UH, MR. CHAIR, GIVE A QUICK UPDATE FOR WALLOPS. UM, OF COURSE, UH, NASA'S VERY PROUD THAT, UH, WE HAVE A NEW ADMINISTRATOR, UH, JARED ISMAN WAS CONFIRMED BY THE SENATE JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS. UM, MR. ISMAN, UH, PAID A VISIT TO WALLOPS SHORTLY AFTER BECOMING ADMINISTRATOR EARLY IN JANUARY AFTER THE HOLIDAYS, WAS VERY IMPRESSED BY THE FACILITY. UM, AND, UH, I, I THINK THE SUMMARY OF WHAT HE HAD TO SAY WAS, I REALLY LIKE WHAT IS GOING ON HERE, AND I JUST WANT TO SEE THE LAUNCH CADENCE INCREASE ITS IMPORTANCE TO THE NATION IS OBVIOUS. AND, UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE ARE SUPPORTING NASA HERE. UM, WE ARE A MULTI-AGENCY FACILITY. UH, IT'S NOT A NA, IT'S A NASA OWNED FACILITY, BUT IT'S NOT A NASA ONLY FACILITY. AND, UH, HE WANTS TO SEE US CONTINUE TO PROVIDE EXCELLENT SERVICE TO OUR, OUR PARTNERS AS WELL AS TO CONTINUE TO GROW THE COMMERCIAL PART OF THIS, UM, UH, ECOSYSTEM THAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT. UM, HE RECOGNIZED THE STEM WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING AND, UH, PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS THAT WE HAVE BUILT IN A REGIONAL AREA TO SERVE AS THE PIPELINE. UM, WE DO A LOT OF INTERNSHIPS WITH STUDENTS TO COME TO WALLOPS, WHETHER THEY WANT TO COME BACK FOR A CAREER OR GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. WE'RE FEEDING THE AEROSPACE ECOSYSTEM WITH THOSE, THOSE STUDENTS. THAT'S IMPORTANT, UH, FOR OUR ECONOMY. UM, WE WENT TO RICHMOND FOR AEROSPACE DAYS IN, UH, EARLY FEBRUARY OF VERY SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS WITH OUR REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SUPPORT THAT WE HAVE AT THE WALLACE FACILITY BY WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO OUT HERE. SO THEY, EVERYBODY'S I THINK, VERY SUPPORTIVE. OUR LEGISLATORS, UH, OUR REPRESENTATIVES ARE, ARE VERY ENCOURAGED BY WHAT THEY SEE. UM, WE'VE HAD NEW ENTRANTS TO THE LAUNCH [01:05:01] VEHICLE INDUSTRY COME AND PAY A VISIT TO WALLOPS RECENTLY. UM, SO WE CONTINUE TO ATTRACT NEW COMPANIES THAT COME IN AND LOOK AND THEY DO SAY, UM, LOOKS LIKE WE CAN OPERATE HERE. UM, MAYBE THEY COME IN FOR A LAUNCH, BUT MAYBE THEY'RE, THEY COME FOR ONE LAUNCH AND ENDS UP BEING THAT THEY WANT TO PUT DOWN ROOTS. SO IT, IT'S A FULL GAMUT. UM, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO OUR SECOND SUPPORT FOR SPACEX OF THE LAUNCH COMING UP HERE NEXT MONTH. SO IT'S, IT, IT RUNS A FULL GAMUT. AS, AS, UM, UH, RYAN MENTIONED WE'RE GONNA BRING ON NEUTRON THIS YEAR, BUT THEN WE'RE ALSO WORKING REALLY HARD TO BRING ON ECLIPSE AND, UM, THAT, UH, BUILDING THE HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION FACILITY HAS BEEN REFURBISHED INSIDE TO SUPPORT NORTHROP GRUMMAN. SO THAT'S SOME OF THE WORK WE'RE DOING. SO WE'VE GOT, UH, THE NEW BRIDGE GOING, GREAT GUNS OVER THERE. AND, UM, BEACH REPLENISHMENT IS, UH, BEING PLANNED. UH, SO THAT, UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEER TO GET THROUGH THE, UH, FINAL APPROVAL PROCESS TO START THAT, UH, SPACE CENTER AUSTRALIA. I THINK THAT, UH, UH, WE, YOU HEARD ABOUT THAT. UM, BUT WE ARE ALSO SUPPORTING AN ITALIAN COMPANY, AVIO, USA, AND, UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM TO GET THEM READY FOR A LAUNCH. UM, THIS YEAR, UM, WE JUST COMPLETED A NEW HANGAR TO SUPPORT, UH, GLOBAL HAWK AIRCRAFT FOR THOSE TO SUPPORT A HYPERSONICS WORK. UH, AND SO THOSE ARE CALLED RANGE HAWKS IS WHAT THEY, AND THIS, THIS ALLOWS THEM TO PROVIDE DOWN RANGE, UM, TELEMETRY, UH, OF DATA THAT IS REQUIRED BY DOW, FOR INSTANCE, THESE, UM, THESE, THESE HYPERSONIC LAUNCHES. UM, WHAT MAKES WALLOPS UNIQUE IN THE SENSE THAT WE HAVE VERY LONG CORRIDORS FROM OUR RANGE THAT YOU CAN OPERATE FROM, AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT. SO, UH, WE ARE JUST BRINGING THAT CAPABILITY ON. AND AS, UH, RYAN WAS MENTIONING, UM, WE ARE, WE'RE EXPANDING OUR MANIFESTS. UM, WE, UH, WE'LL PROBABLY DO 20 LAUNCHES THIS YEAR, UM, AND, UM, PROBABLY 30 NEXT YEAR WE'VE BEEN GROWING, UM, OUR LAUNCH CAPABILITY ABOUT 25% A YEAR, THE LAST THREE YEARS. AND THAT DOESN'T SEEM TO STOP. THAT'S EXCELLENT. GREAT. AND, UM, AND, AND, AND THEN WE, WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT VIRGINIA WITH A NUMBER OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES. UM, WE HAVE THE ONLY TRAINING PROGRAM FOR ALL OF VIRGINIA'S, UH, COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND, UM, STEM TAKES FLIGHT. AND SO WE'RE REALLY PROUD TO PARTNER WITH, UH, DAVID DORE AND, AND ALL OF OUR, UH, EDUCATORS AT THE COMMUNITY COLLEGES SO THAT THEY CAN GO BACK TO THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND TALK ABOUT AND TEACH THEIR STUDENTS ABOUT AEROSPACE AND THE COMMONWEALTH. UM, THEN, UH, WE, UH, WE DO, UM, A NUMBER OF MIDDLE SCHOOL TO, UH, HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITIES. UM, WE'RE GETTING READY TO HAVE JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT INSPIRE DAY AT THE WHITE, WORCESTER WHITE COMMON COAST, SOMERSET, UM, UH, CIVIC CENTER, BUT IT INVOLVES AKIMA COUNTY, UH, EIGHTH GRADERS AND NORTH HAMPTON EIGHTH GRADERS. WE'LL REACH 4508TH GRADERS WOW. AT A TIME WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO CHOOSE WHETHER OR NOT THEY TAKE A STEM TRACK OR NOT. EIGHTH GRADERS ARE SO IMPORTANT TO REACH THEM AND GET THEM EXCITED ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING, AND THEY'RE ALL PART OF THE ARTEMIS GENERATION. SO THAT'S WHAT OUR FOCUS IS. UM, AND THEN WE'RE, UH, CONTINUING TO SPONSOR THE JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT CENTER WHERE STUDENTS WILL COME IN FROM MACK COUNTY AND THEY'LL SPEND THE WHOLE DAY DOING STEM AND FINANCIAL LITERACY, UM, PART OF THE JAS MISSION WITH NASA. WOW. AND SO IF YOU'RE EVER UP IN SALISBURY, THAT'S WHERE THE FACILITY IS. SO WE, UM, WE PRESENTED, UM, AT THE, UM, UH, AS ALONG WITH MR. PBIT, UH, AT THE, UM, SOUTHERN, UH, DEL MARVA ECONOMIC FORECAST. AND IT'S CLEAR, UM, THAT THE ECONOMY OF DEL MARVA, VIRGINIA, MARYLAND, AND DELAWARE IS INEXTRICABLY TIED TO WALLOPS. EXCELLENT. THAT'S GREAT NEWS. SO THAT'S JUST SOME OF WHAT WE'RE DOING. AND OF COURSE, WE'RE ALL EXCITED ABOUT ARTEMIS CLOSEST. YOU KNOW, THE ASTRONAUTS WILL COME TO THE MOON SINCE 1972, AND HOPEFULLY THAT'LL GET LAUNCHED IN APRIL. AND WALLOPS DOES HAVE A SUPPORT ROLE TO ARTEMIS. WE DO. UM, WE MAN THE, UM, UH, BERMUDA TRACKING STATION. SO WHEN THE, UM, SLS LEAVES FLORIDA, WE'RE TRACKING IT AS IT GOES INTO, YOU KNOW, ON AS SENDING NODE [01:10:01] GOES INTO ORBIT. WE'RE TRACKING IT FROM BERMUDA. WE'RE RELAYING THE DATA BACK THROUGH WALLOPS, BACK TO THE CAPE. EXCELLENT. AND JOHNSON AND JOHNSON DOWN IN HOUSTON. EXCELLENT. VERY GOOD. I THINK THAT'S IT. THAT'S A LOT. AND I THINK YOU'VE ALSO OPENED A NEW CHILDCARE FACILITY ON WE HAVE, AND WE'RE EXPANDING A NEW ONE THAT WILL HOST 75 STUDENTS IN A NEW BUILDING THAT WE'RE BUILDING, AND IT WILL BE OPEN TO ALL OF OUR PARTNERS. SO FINALLY, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A FULL SERVICE CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER FOR, UM, BOTH OUR, UH, VSA, UH, ROCKET LAB, UH, THE NAVY, EVERYONE THAT THERE'S, THERE'S LITTLE PEOPLE COULD COME TO THAT'S GREAT. BE AT WALLOPS, STARTING 'EM REALLY EARLY, YOU KNOW, EVEN PRE EIGHTH GRADE MM-HMM . SO EXCELLENT. YEAH. AND THAT'S BEEN GRAHAM, THAT'S ONE OF OUR BIG CHALLENGES. YEAH. SO THAT'S, THAT'S JUST SUCH A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ECOSYSTEM AND TO THE COMMUNITY. UM, AND CAN'T THANK YOU GUYS ENOUGH FOR PULLING THAT OFF. WELL, I CAN'T THANK OF THE COUNTY ENOUGH FOR, YOU KNOW, THE WORK TO GET LIKE NATURAL GAS AND EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING TOGETHER YEAH. TO, TO, TO GROW THIS BABY. I DON'T KNOW THAT ANYBODY EVER LOOKED BACKWARDS 40, 50 YEARS AGO AND SAID, HOW DID COCOA BEACH AND HOW DID THE SPACE CO GROW? BUT I THINK WE'RE DOING IT BRICK BY BRICK HERE. AND WITH GRAHAM'S HELP AND VEDP, THE COUNTY, UM, THE STATE, OUR FEDERAL PARTNERS WE'RE, I THINK WE'RE FINDING OUR WAY. AND I DON'T THINK YOU'RE GONNA RECOGNIZE WALLOPS 10 YEARS FROM NOW. THAT'S CRAZY. IT'S, THIS PLACE IS, AND YOU MEAN THAT IN A GOOD WAY, BY THE WAY, LET ME JUST PUT OH, I, I ABSOLUTELY DO. I THINK THAT, UH, I THINK THAT, UH, I THINK WE'RE REALLY GETTING OUR HANDS AROUND THE, UM, ENABLING ISSUES THAT WE ALL HAVE TO WORK, LIKE WORKING WITH HRSD TO GET WASTEWATER TREATMENT SEEDED, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO DO THAT BEFORE I DIE. YEAH. YOU AND ME BOTH BEFORE MR. MASON KILLS ME, , THAT WOULD BE A MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT. I THINK WE, WELL, IT'LL SPUR DEVELOPMENT IF WE HAVE THAT. I, I, I WILL, I WILL SEEK FUNDING FOR THE DAVE PIER STATUE AT THAT POINT. SO, UM, THAT'S EXCELLENT. SO I, I DO CURIOUS, I KNOW, I THINK NORTHROP GRUMMAN IS WORKING THROUGH VIRGINIA SPACE. I MEAN, ARE THEY KIND OF FLYING ON THEIR OWN? IS THERE ANY BENEFIT TO THEM HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH US OR, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST, I KNOW THEY'RE THERE, THEY'RE KIND OF THE LONGSTANDING CLIENT AT THE SAME TIME WE HEAR THE LEAST ABOUT THEM. YEAH. SO, UM, DO YOU NEED ME AT THE MIC FOR NO, YOU'RE GOOD. THE MEETING. OKAY. UH, YEAH, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I ACTUALLY JUST ENGAGED WITH, UH, KURT AND, UH, HIS TEAM LAST WEEK, UH, AT NORTHROP, JUST TO LET THEM KNOW ABOUT OUR MASTER PLANNING EFFORTS AND ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON. AND, AND THEY COULDN'T BE HAPPIER HERE AT WALLETS. AND THE SUPPORT THEY'RE GETTING FROM NASA AND VIRGINIA SPACES IS JUST WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR RIGHT NOW. UM, I THINK IF THEY WERE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE TODAY, UH, THEY'RE FULLY FOCUSED ON GETTING, UH, THE LAST OF THE TERRY'S EQUIPMENT, UH, THROUGH THE SYSTEM AND THEN, AND THEN TRANSITIONING INTO ECLIPSE AND GETTING ECLIPSE OFF THE PAD. UH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, MR. PIERCE, YOU MENTIONED THE HI F AND THE MODIFICATIONS OF THE HIF, THAT'S GONNA BE THEIR, THEIR PROGRAM HOME FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE DOWN RANGE INTO THE 10, 15, 20 YEAR, UH, REALM. I, I COULD ABSOLUTELY SEE THE NEED FOR EXPANSION, UH, FOR NORTHROP. UH, WHETHER OR NOT THAT ENDS UP IN THE WALL RESEARCH PARK OR SOMEWHERE ELSE, IT'S HARD TO SAY. MM-HMM. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS WOULD BE. THEY'RE VERY OPEN TO THE CONVERSATION ABOUT EXPANDING THE PRESENCE HERE, SO WE'RE EXCITED TO DO THAT. I STOPPED BY AND DID A COLD CALL ONE DAY AT THE OFFICE, AND THEY THOUGHT I WAS OUTTA MY MIND. BUT STILL, I, I DON'T MIND THAT. UM, BUT I, I THINK SINCE THEY'RE HERE, IT'D BE GREAT TO GET THEM ON THE PARK. AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S SOMETHING TO CONSIDER, UH, RE REGARDING ECONOMIC ZONES, IF THERE'S A, WOULD BE ANY POTENTIAL BENEFIT. AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE NEED AN ANSWER TO OR SOMETHING ELSE WE COULD PURSUE. UM, AS FAR AS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ZONES AND IN THE PARK. UH, SO THEIR OFFICE IS OFF THE PARK. THEY'VE HAD A LONG STANDING OFFICE, BUT A CONSIDERATION. OKAY. I THINK WE'VE PROBABLY GONE OVER, UH, COMMENTS. MR. PIERCE, YOU TOLD US A LOT, DR. MORRIS. NO COMMENTS, CHAD? NO, JUST, JUST A COUPLE LITTLE SMALL, LITTLE THINGS. UM, I ENVY A COMMUTE FROM OCEAN CITY. I COMMUTE FROM PRINCESS AND MARYLAND . UM, JUST A COUPLE THINGS. UH, WE ARE BASICALLY, UM, ON TOMORROW, UH, PRESIDENT [01:15:01] FROM, UH, KTOWN UNIVERSITY. NEW PRESIDENT WILL BE VISITING ON ONSITE, UH, TOMORROW. HE'LL BE THERE TOMORROW AND FRIDAY JUST TO TAKE A LOOK AT THINGS. UH, WE HAD A PRE, THE PRESIDENT FROM ONE OF THE OTHER UNIVERSITIES THAT CAME DOWN. SO THE PRESIDENTS ARE NOW COMING ONSITE NOW AND TAKING A LOOK AT AND SEEING EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING ON. ON NEXT WEEK, THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, WE HAVE A GROUP OF INDIVIDUAL VICE PRESIDENTS COMING ON TO TAKE A LOOK AT OUR INFRASTRUCTURES, BECAUSE THAT'S, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M DOING NOW IS, UM, EMPHASIS IS ON OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. WE'VE BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR OVER 50 YEARS NOW. AND, AND, UH, AND IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH US AND, AND WHERE, UH, FUNDS ARE GOING NOW IS, IS IN, IN TERMS OF BUILDING UP AND, AND FIXING STUFF THAT ARE BASICALLY OUTDATED. SO, UM, THE BOARD PRESIDENT AND DR. UBA HAVE INSTRUCTED, UM, HIS VICE PRESIDENTS FROM EACH ONE OF THE CAMPUSES TO COME AND, AND EACH ONE IN A SPECIFIC AREA TO KIND OF COME AND LOOK AT THINGS AND, AND SEE WHERE WE ARE. AND WITHIN A WEEK STAND, WE'RE SUPPOSED TO GET HIM BACK A REPORT. AND THEN AT OUR NEXT BOARD MEETING, I'M LOOKING FOR SOME MONEY TO DO SOME THINGS, UH, FOR THE FIELD STATION. UM, ANYONE THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND KNOW THAT, UH, I'M GOING INTO MY EIGHTH YEAR NOW, AND WHEN I CAME, THE FIELD STATION WAS ON THE VERGE OF BEING CLOSED, UH, BECAUSE OF FINANCIAL ISSUES. UH, NOW WE ARE BASICALLY KIND OF SOLID. SO WE ARE LOOKING MORE TOWARDS, UM, THE FUTURE. UM, WE TRYING TO FIND SPACES FOR PROGRAMS, UH, DOING FOR SUMMER INTERNS AND STUFF NOW. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WE TRYING TO, UM, TO KIND OF GET OUR FACILITIES UP A LITTLE BIT. SO, UM, WE'RE DOING A LOT OF POSITIVE THINGS. UM, I'M PROUD OF WHERE I AM COMPARED TO WHERE I'VE BEEN. AND, UM, I'M LOOKING FORWARD, UH, TO HAVING ALL THESE VISITS THAT I'M HAVING NOW IS, IS NEW TO US, AND, AND WE ARE ANXIOUS ABOUT THAT. SO CALL US IF YOU NEED US. UM, WE ARE NOT INTO SPACE NOW. ONE OF THE THINGS I WOULD SAY TO YOU IS THAT, UM, I'M ON THE MARYLAND STATE BOARD OF, UM, EDUCATION. SO IF THERE'S ANYTHING, UM, I'M ONE OF THE BOARD MEMBERS, UH, JUST RECENTLY GOT APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR. SO IF ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO ON THAT END, UH, LET ME KNOW AND, UH, PUT YOU IN TOUCH WITH FULL STAR MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA IS RIGHT NEXT TO ONE ANOTHER. RIGHT. SHOULD BE WORKING TOGETHER. GOOD STUFF. AND I HOPE WITHIN THE, MAYBE SOME FACILITY USAGE OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL WITH ALL YOUR EXTENSIVE FACILITIES, ESPECIALLY WITH SOME UPGRADES. SO THAT'S, THAT'S GREAT NEWS. YES, SIR. I'M GOOD, SIR. ALRIGHT. UM, AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER. I WANNA THANK EVERYONE FOR COMING. UM, I DO WANT TO THINK IN OUR PREVIOUS DISCUSSION ABOUT OUR PRIORITIES. I THINK LEE, YOU KNOW, FRAME OF CONSCIOUSNESS, BUT, UM, PART OF THAT DISCUSSION AS WE GET INTO THOSE DETAILS NEEDS TO BE, DO WE HAVE A DOCUMENTED PROCESS FOR, UH, SOME COMPANY WHEN THEY COME IN THAT WE'VE GOT A POLICY IN PLACE THAT THE, THAT SHOWS THE FLOW OF WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN TO BE A TENANT OR A PURCHASER OF THE PARK. UM, BUT, UH, VERY EXCITED GRAHAM FOR YOUR HELP. AND, AND ACTUALLY, UH, WE HAD A GREAT VISIT WITH THE SECRETARY, THE OUTGOING SECRETARY OF COMMERCE. I HOPE WE CAN GET A GREAT VISIT WITH THE, THE CURRENT SECRETARY OF COMMERCE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I THINK THAT WAS VERY BENEFICIAL. IT WAS SO, UM, UH, IT, IT REALLY WAS. IT WAS. UM, SO GOOD STUFF AND, AND LET'S KEEP THE MOMENTUM. ALRIGHT. ENTERTAINING. UH, MOTION TO ADJOURN. SO MOVED. SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.