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Advanced / Transformational Technology

Space Force May Need Uptick In Wallops Island Launches Due To Commercial Demand

Frank Wolfe

Thursday, March 26th, 2026

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Space Force May Need Uptick In Wallops Island Launches Due To Commercial Demand

Pictured is a Rocket Lab photo of the company's Electron rocket launching from Wallops Island, Va. on December 18, 2025 carrying the U.S. Space Force's Space Test Program S30 mission.

While the Space Force has used Wallops Island, Va., to launch niche missions, including small-satellite orbital and sounding rocket hypersonic suborbital launches, the service may need to ensure that it is able to ramp up launches there significantly, the head of U.S. Space Command said on Thursday. Wallops "has been an amazing story over the last decade," Space Force Gen. Stephen Whiting told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in response to a question from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) on…

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