CHINCOTEAGUE, VA - Accomack County Administrator Mike Mason is providing further details on how and when Rocket Lab plans to utilize a local boat ramp to bring their rockets ashore while county and state officials weigh the impacts.
As WBOC previously reported, space company Rocket Lab has been eyeing the Queen Sound boat ramp off the Chincoteague Causeway as a possible entry point for barges carrying rocket components. Those components would then be transported on the causeway to Wallops Island.
Rocket Lab’s plans drew some concern from neighbors in Chincoteague, who worried the large operations on the causeway would dam up traffic to and from the island, including emergency vehicles.
Chincoteague Mayor Arthur Leonard told WBOC they have been asking Virginia’s Department of Transportation to widen the causeway for years. In the agenda for Accomack’s October 16th Board of Supervisors meeting, however, Administrator Mason outlines the general details of Rocket Lab’s intentions and reiterated that the Queen Sound ramp would only be used as a backup barge landing.
“Rocket Lab's preferred and primary cargo delivery method is to use a dock option directly on Wallops Island,” Mason writes in his Key Points for a presentation scheduled for Wednesday, “Until that is available, they are considering using a barge to perform a beach landing directly on Wallops but Rocket Lab needs an alternative if weather or nesting bird restrictions derail this option which is where Queen Sound comes into play.”
If Rocket Lab were to use the Queen Sound ramp, the offloading would be scheduled for late night to minimize traffic impacts on the causeway, according to Mason. The County Administrator says Rocket Lab is aware of public safety concerns over shutting down the causeway and are prepared to offer solutions.
One of those solutions, according to Mason, could involve placing aerial medical transport on Chincoteague during off-loading, should an emergency arise.
Mason says use of the Queen Sound would be limited in the first few years but could see an uptick in off-loading by 2028, where 12 the dock could see up to 12 landings. No more than 24 off-loadings at the ramp are expected in total, Mason says.
“Within this timeframe, the goal is to have permanent dock infrastructure available directly on Wallops Island that eliminates the need for use of the interim options like Queens Sound.”
Mason underscores the fact that Virginia's Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) owns the Queen Sound boat ramp, so the ultimate decision would be left to the Commonwealth. Mason says DWR has yet to make a decision on whether Rocket Lab will be permitted to off-load using the ramp.
Rocket Lab plans to hold multiple community presentations and discussions in the near future to listen and respond to neighbors’ feedback, according to Mason. The space company is also expected to provide updates to both Chincoteague officials and the Accomack Board of Supervisors at their upcoming public meetings in November.
Mason is slated to present his report at the Accomack County Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday evening.
