[SatNews] Wallops' HIF is now open...

NASA ushered in a new era of space exploration at its Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Tuesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony opening the new Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF). The HIF will support medium-class mission capabilities. The first customer to use the facility will be Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., with its Taurus II launch vehicle. Orbital will conduct missions for NASA under the agency's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services project and Commercial Resupply Services contract. Integration of the Taurus II at the new facility will begin this month, with the first launch expected later this year. The facility is 250 feet long, 150 wide and 60 feet high. Its bay = provides dual horizontal processing with 70-and 50-ton bridge cranes. Built in approximately 16 months, the HIF has adjacent laboratory and warehouse space. Its safety features include a deluge fire suppression system and a blast-attenuating wall.