New Rocket Lab Manufacturing Facility Will Open in Accomack, Near Wallops

Accomack County Board of Supervisors approves three rezoning requests in Wallops vicinity to allow Rocket Lab to expand its Neutron rocket manufacturing facilities. This means that Rocket Lab manufacturing process will happen on a 28-acre area right at the Wallops gate. As of today, the site is still officially a chicken farm that has been out of use for a while and is scheduled for demolition.

New Rocket Lab Manufacturing Facility

The new rocket manufacturing building will be large enough to support both vertical and horizontal rocket manufacturing. Right, the company has not yet decided on how exactly the processes will take place. Still, once built, this rocket manufacturing facility will be the largest on the Eastern shore.

The planned Rocket Lab manufacturing facility should be big enough to produce twelve 45-by-5-meter rockets a year. According to retiring MARS director Dale Nash, such a facility has the potential to create around 250 new jobs in the area, which is why the Board made the right call when allowing Rocket Lab manufacturing building — even more so, if we consider the company’s internship program with the Eastern Shore Community College. This implies that the new jobs will probably create work opportunities for the locals.

About Rocket Lab Neutron Rocket

Neutron rockets will have up to eight-ton payload capacity and a possibility to carry manned crews. The first stage will be reusable, meaning that the rocket will return its first booster either to an ocean or ground platform.

As for the production materials stores in the future rocket manufacturing facility, none will be too hazardous. According to Nash, most people have similar products in their garages already — fuel and component parts. Nash believes that the new rocket manufacturing facility will put Accomack on an international stage, and the company seems to share his opinion because Rocket Lab manufacturing lease will be a long-term one.