Governor O'Malley Applauds Orbital Sciences Corporation Announcement to Base Operations in Mid-Atlantic Area
Wallops Major Employer for Maryland’s Eastern Shore Residents; Big Business for State
ANNAPOLIS, MD (June 9, 2008) – Governor Martin O’Malley today applauded Orbital Sciences Corporation’s announcement to select their base of operations in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, located at the NASA Wallops Island Flight Facility. Approximately 35 percent of Wallops employees are residents of Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
“Orbital’s announcement ensures that Maryland will continue to be a global leader in the development of the next generation of cutting-edge technologies,” said Governor O’Malley. “This new facility will help generate jobs in the Eastern Shore, building on the brainpower and skills of our people to create greater opportunities and advance the cause of science.”
At the Wallops facility, Orbital will develop its Taurus II rocket, which will be designed to take over cargo re-supply missions to the international space station starting in 2010 when the space shuttle stops flying. All cargo re-supply missions to the space station would be launched from Wallops. The new development would make Wallops a major international launch site and attract new business for the region. The development would also bring 50-100 new jobs to the area, and would generate $250 million in economic development for the Eastern Shore.
"This is another great example of how Maryland and Virginia are working together to protect our shared resources while bringing jobs and economic opportunities to the region,” said DBED Secretary David W Edgerley. “Orbital's selection of Wallops Island is a major victory for the whole State of Maryland and will ultimately bring new residents and significant investment to Maryland’s Eastern Shore.”
"This project is regional economic development at its best,” said Worcester County Economic Development Director, Jerry Redden. “We look forward to working with Orbital to help them staff up at Wallops Island and maximize the economic opportunities for Marylanders.”
Maryland is home to the highest percentage of professional and technical workers nationwide, and was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 3rd most highly skilled workforce in the nation. To help bolster the State’s already strong workforce, earlier this month, Governor O’Malley led a trade mission to Israel to strengthen the ties between Israel and Maryland’s technology and bioscience industries. During the week-long mission, the Governor met with a number of high level Israeli business executives, and as a result, affirmed that two leading Israeli companies plan to open offices in Maryland, and Israel’s largest bioscience company plans to continue its commitment to the State.
