NASA Test Director Sarah Daugherty said the flight facility's safety processes worked as planned, noting major damage was confined to the area within the 8,500-foot circumference hazard zone.
ACCOMACK CO. -- NASA employees fielded questions from a few dozen members of the public as well as the media at a poster session-style meeting about the environmental impact of an Antares rocket failure at a Wallops launch pad in October.
Mike Kontgias, a resident of Trails End in northern Accomack County, said he came to the public information session 'to find out what they're doing, what damage it caused, how long it will take to repair it.'
He was satisfied with what he heard. 'I got good answers,' Kontgias said.
Like many county residents, Kontgias and his wife like to watch the rockets launched from NASA Wallops Flight Facility -typically they go to the public boat ramp at Queens Sound near Chincoteague.
They were there when Orbital Sciences Corporation's third commercial cargo mission to the International Space Station was launched Oct. 28, and saw the rocket explode seconds after liftoff.
'Everybody cheered when it first went off,' but they soon realized something was wrong as they saw the explosion and felt two shockwaves. 'We said, 'Oh, no,' Kontgias said.
NASA Test Director Sarah Daugherty said the flight facility's safety processes worked as planned, noting major damage was confined to the area within the 8,500-foot circumference hazard zone.
No one was injured in the explosion or its aftermath.
'A lot of things go into that calculation and then we come up with an area that all people have to be out of, because it's the area that's going to contain all the debris that is lethal to anybody,' she said.
T. J. Meyer, chief of NASA Wallops Flight Facility's environmental office, talks to members of the public at an information session held on Dec. 15, 2014.(Photo: Carol Vaughn - DelmarvaNow)
T. J. Meyer, head of NASA Wallops Flight Facility's environmental office, answered questions about what is being done to measure and remediate the environmental impact resulting from the failure.
Water from the impact crater near Launch Pad 0-A has been pumped out seven times so far, and will be pumped out at least once more and perhaps more to remove as much of two chemicals found there, Meyer said.
Analysis of water samples from the first pumpout to the most recent one shows a 90 percent reduction in two chemicals that could pose an environmental hazard -a highly refined kerosene called RP-1 and perchlorate.
The data is sent to a third party laboratory for analysis, Meyer said.
'We did a full range of analysis of water and soil,' he said, adding those were the only two harmful chemicals found in surface and groundwater samples taken in the area immediately around the impact site.
T. J. Meyer of NASA Wallops Flight Facility's environmental office points out water and soil sampling locations around the launch pad where an Antares rocket failed in October.(Photo: Carol Vaughn - DelmarvaNow)
Additionally, contaminated soil from around the crater is being excavated to remove any residual RP-1. The soil will be hauled to a permitted off-site disposal facility.
Orbital Sciences Corporation and the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, which owns and operates the spaceport on Wallops Island, will work with federal and state agencies to develop a strategy to investigate if there are further impacts to groundwater, according to a NASA update issued Dec. 8.
Air samples taken in several nearby locations within one hour after the explosion and for three days afterward did not detect dangerous substances, including hydrochloric acid, anhydrous hydrazine or dinitrogen tetroxide.
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Entities 0 Name: NASA Count: 6 1 Name: T. J. Meyer Count: 3 2 Name: Kontgias Count: 3 3 Name: Sarah Daugherty Count: 2 4 Name: NASA Wallops Flight Facility Count: 2 5 Name: Carol Vaughn Count: 2 6 Name: Antares Count: 2 7 Name: Orbital Sciences Corporation Count: 2 8 Name: Meyer Count: 2 9 Name: Chincoteague Count: 1 10 Name: ACCOMACK Count: 1 11 Name: Wallops Count: 1 12 Name: Accomack County Count: 1 13 Name: International Space Station Count: 1 14 Name: Wallops Island Count: 1 15 Name: Mike Kontgias Count: 1 16 Name: Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority Count: 1 17 Name: Queens Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1qS3PaY Title: NASA Tests Software That May Help Increase Flight Efficiency, Decrease Aircraft Noise Description: image-50]NASA researchers Friday began flight tests of computer software that shows promise in improving flight efficiency and reducing environmental impacts of aircraft, especially on communities around airports. Known as ASTAR, or Airborne Spacing for Terminal Arrival Routes, the software is designed to give pilots specific speed information and guidance so that planes can be more precisely spaced, enabling pilots to fly a "follow the leader" approach to their destination airport.
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