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41-594: The Virginia General Assembly created the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority in 1995 to promote the development of the commercial space flight industry, economic development, aerospace research, and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education throughout the Commonwealth. Initially partnered with Old Dominion University , which helped develop the organization, longtime professor Dr. Billie M. Reed

82-411: A commission consisting of eight lawmakers, four from each party, and eight citizens. The amendment passed with all counties and cities supporting the measure except Arlington . The commission failed to reach an agreement on new state and congressional districts by an October 25, 2021, deadline, and relied upon the amendment's provision that lets the state Supreme Court of Virginia draw the districts in

123-678: A successful career in the private sector since 2007. As the vice president and director of government, commercial and international initiatives for Geospatial Systems, a division of ITT Exelis, Mercer was responsible for government / industry partnerships and international initiatives worldwide. Prior to joining ITT Exelis, Mercer served in the United States Air Force (USAF) for over 32 years (retired January 1, 2008), most recently as director of plans and policy for U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base (AFB) in Nebraska. He

164-493: A wheeled transporter/erector that will "roll out and erect the rocket on its launch pad about 24 hours prior to launch". The facility suffered significant damage during the 28 October 2014 Antares launch failure , according to NASA officials in the immediate aftermath. The Commonwealth of Virginia is seeking help from its two US Senators to obtain Federal funding for rebuilding the pad. Preliminary estimates for rebuilding

205-656: Is described as "the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World." Its existence dates to its establishment at Jamestown on July 30, 1619, by instructions from the Virginia Company of London to the new Governor Sir George Yeardley . It was initially a unicameral body composed of the Company-appointed Governor and Council of State , plus 22 burgesses elected by the settlements and Jamestown. The Assembly became bicameral in 1642 upon

246-698: Is launch pad was completed in December 2019. Launch pad 0A (LP-0A) was built for the Conestoga rocket, which made its only flight in 1995. The launch tower was subsequently demolished in September 2008, and has now been rebuilt for use by the Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Antares . The pad modifications for Antares included the construction of a Horizontal Integration Facility for launcher/payload mating and

287-600: Is practicable, representation in proportion to the population of the district." The Redistricting Coalition of Virginia proposes either an independent commission or a bipartisan commission that is not polarized. Member organizations include the League of Women Voters of Virginia, AARP of Virginia, OneVirginia2021 , the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and Virginia Organizing . Governor Bob McDonnell 's Independent Bipartisan Advisory Commission on Redistricting for

328-804: Is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia , the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere , and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World . It was established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house , the Virginia House of Delegates , with 100 members, and an upper house , the Senate of Virginia , with 40 members. Senators serve terms of four years, and delegates serve two-year terms. Combined,

369-790: The 2023 election , when the Democratic Party secured majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly. The General Assembly meets in Virginia's capital of Richmond . When sitting in Richmond, the General Assembly holds sessions in the Virginia State Capitol , designed by Thomas Jefferson in 1788 and expanded in 1904. During the American Civil War , the building was used as the capitol of

410-795: The Confederate States , housing the Confederate Congress . The building was renovated between 2005 and 2006. Senators and delegates have their offices in the General Assembly Building across the street directly north of the Capitol, which have been rebuilt and are expected to open in 2023. The Governor of Virginia lives across the street directly east of the Capitol in the Virginia Executive Mansion . The Virginia General Assembly

451-525: The Constitution of Virginia , senators and delegates must be twenty-one years of age at the time of the election, residents of the district they represent, and qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly. Under the Constitution, "a senator or delegate who moves his residence from the district for which he is elected shall thereby vacate his office." The state constitution specifies that

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492-679: The International Space Station (ISS). By the end of 2003, Governor Mark Warner and Governor Robert L. Ehrlich , respectively of Virginia and Maryland, partnered to establish the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) , succeeding the Virginia Space Flight Center. This was done, in part, to help develop the region's presence for space flight and collaboration with the local universities. Senator Mikulski of Maryland

533-652: The secretary of the Senate , the title used by the U.S. Senate ). Following the 2019 election , the Democratic Party held a majority of seats in both the House and the Senate for the first time since 1996. They were sworn into office on January 8, 2020, at the start of the 161st session . In the 2021 election , the Republican Party recaptured a majority in the House of Delegates, then lost it after

574-769: The Commonwealth of Virginia made its report on April 1, 2011. It made two recommendations for each state legislative house that showed maps of districts more compact and contiguous than those adopted by the General Assembly. However, no action was taken after the report was released. In 2011 the Virginia College and University Redistricting Competition was organized by Professors Michael McDonald of George Mason University and Quentin Kidd of Christopher Newport University . About 150 students on sixteen teams from thirteen schools submitted plans for legislative and U.S. Congressional Districts. They created districts more compact than

615-769: The Federal Aviation Administration where he provides high-level leadership for interagency and international collaboration related to NextGen. He executes the collaborative processes needed to ensure efficient coordination among all federal partners whose decisions impact NextGen. The federal partner agencies include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Commerce (DOC), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), National Science Foundation (NSF), and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as well as

656-424: The General Assembly consists of 140 elected representatives from an equal number of constituent districts across the commonwealth. The House of Delegates is presided over by the speaker of the House , while the Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virginia . The House and Senate each elect a clerk and sergeant-at-arms . The Senate of Virginia's clerk is known as the clerk of the Senate (instead of as

697-697: The General Assembly in 1776 with the ratification of the Virginia Constitution . The government was moved to Richmond in 1780 during the administration of Governor Thomas Jefferson . The annual salary for senators is $ 18,000. The annual salary for delegates is $ 17,640, with the exception that the Speaker's salary is $ 36,321. Members and one staff member also receive a per diem allowance for each day spent attending to official duties such as attending session in Richmond or attending committee meetings. Transportation expenses are reimbursed. Under

738-402: The General Assembly shall meet annually, and its regular session is a maximum of 60 days long in even-numbered years and 30 days long in odd-numbered years, unless extended by a two-thirds vote of both houses. The Governor of Virginia may convene a special session of the General Assembly "when, in his opinion, the interest of the Commonwealth may require" and must convene a special session "upon

779-528: The General Assembly's efforts. The "Division 1" maps conformed with the Governor's executive order , and did not address electoral competition or representational fairness. In addition to the criteria of contiguity, equipopulation, the federal Voting Rights Act and communities of interest in the existing city and county boundaries, "Division 2" maps in the competition did incorporate considerations of electoral competition and representational fairness. Judges for

820-661: The Global Strike mission. Mercer has held command seven times from the squadron to the wing level. Among his many USAF assignments, he served as commander of 447th Strategic Missile Squadron, Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota; commander of 45th Logistics Group, Patrick AFB, Florida; as commander of 30th Space Wing, Vandenberg AFB, California; commander of 81st Training Wing, Biloxi, MS; commander of 91st Operations Group, Minot, N.D.; as vice director of plans, U.S. Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colorado; deputy director of operations, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB; and as

861-505: The House of Delegates. In 2015, in Vesilind v. Virginia State Board of Elections in a Virginia state court, plaintiffs sought to overturn the General Assembly's redistricting in five House of Delegates and six state Senate districts as violations of both the Virginia and U.S. Constitutions because they failed to represent populations in "continuous and compact territory". In 2020, a constitutional amendment moved redistricting power to

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902-717: The MARS facility. With their main launchpad located in the Māhia Peninsula of New Zealand , Rocket Lab refers to their MARS location as "Launch Complex 2". In 2021, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced the selection of Major General Roosevelt "Ted" Mercer (Retired) as the new Executive Director of Virginia Space, succeeding Dale Nash, who previously announced his retirement after working in that position since 2012. General Mercer took office in August 2021. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport has two active launch pads. A third

943-1017: The Military Advisory Board of Directors for Bellevue University, Bellevue, Nebraska; a member of the board of trustees for the Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York; and a member of the National Association of Governing Boards. Prior to assuming his current position, Mercer was the director of combat and information operations, Global Operations Directorate, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt AFB. Master Missile Operations Badge Master Space Badge. Weapon systems: Titan II and Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles; Delta, Atlas, Titan II and Titan IV launch vehicles; Eastern Range and Western Range optics, radar, telemetry and command destruct systems Roy Wilkins Renown Service Award , NAACP , Jaycees' Outstanding Young Man of America, Tribute before

984-749: The NASA Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission to the Moon in mid-2013 on a new Orbital Sciences Minotaur V launch vehicle. Also in mid-2013, the United States Air Force launched ORS-3 from MARS Pad 0B. In October 2018, VCSFA entered into an agreement with the New Zealand-based Rocket Lab to build a new pad for their Electron rocket . This was followed in 2021 by announcing their Neutron rocket will also be set to launch from

1025-627: The University of Oklahoma, post-graduate Executive Programs at Syracuse University, National Defense University, and Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, as well as a concentrated Executive Financial Development Program at the Wharton School of Business. Mercer is the vice chairman of the board for the National Strategic Research Institute at the University of Nebraska; chairman of

1066-688: The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as an ex officio participant. Mr. Mercer is charged with providing executive direction to a dynamic multi-agency and international partnering organization focused on future NextGen technology, policy, and collaborative activities. Prior to joining the FAA in April 2016, Mercer had

1107-412: The application of two-thirds of the members elected to each house." Article II, section 6 on apportionment states, "Members of the . . . Senate and of the House of Delegates of the General Assembly shall be elected from electoral districts established by the General Assembly. Every electoral district shall be composed of contiguous and compact territory and shall be so constituted as to give, as nearly as

1148-431: The basis of population, in conformance with federal and state laws and court cases, including those addressing racial fairness. The territory is to be contiguous and compact, without oddly shaped boundaries. The commission is prohibited from using political data or election results to favor either political party or incumbent. It passed with a two-thirds majority of 27 to 12 in the Senate, and was then referred to committee in

1189-929: The cash award prizes were Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution and Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute . In January 2015 Republican state senator Jill Holtzman Vogel of Winchester and Democratic state senator Louise Lucas of Portsmouth sponsored a Senate Joint Resolution to establish additional criteria for the Virginia Redistricting Commission of four identified members of political parties, and three other independent public officials. The criteria began with respecting existing political boundaries, such as cities and towns, counties and magisterial districts, election districts and voting precincts. Districts are to be established on

1230-451: The commandant of Joint Forces Staff College, National Defense University, Norfolk, Virginia; commander of Air Force Element, United States Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, Nebraska. Mercer entered the U.S. Air Force as a 1975 distinguished graduate of the University of Puget Sound's ROTC program. His educational credentials include a Bachelor of Arts degree in urban planning from the University of Puget Sound, Master of Science in counseling from

1271-432: The construction on MARS Launch Pad 0C (also known as LP-0C or LC-2) and an associated integration facility for use by Rocket Lab for their Electron rocket . The design is largely based on the company's Launch Complex 1 on the Māhia Peninsula of New Zealand. The first launch from this new launch complex is currently scheduled for the two-quarter 2020. Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly

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1312-431: The event that the commission could not do so. The Supreme Court did so and approved newly drawn districts on December 28, 2021. While newly drawn districts will currently first be used in 2023, a federal lawsuit is pending that calls for an election to be held using newly drawn districts as immediately as November 2022. If the lawsuit was successful, it would have required all House districts, which just held elections under

1353-650: The formation of the House of Burgesses . The Assembly had a judicial function of hearing cases both original and appellate . At various times it may have been referred to as the Grand Assembly of Virginia. The General Assembly met in Jamestown from 1619 until 1699, when it first moved to the College of William & Mary near Williamsburg, Virginia , and from 1705 met in the colonial Capitol building. It became

1394-549: The pad indicate the cost should be no more than US$ 20 million . By May 2015, that estimate had been revised down to US$ 13 million and repairs were expected to be completed by September or October 2015 with the next planned launch in March 2016. On September 30, 2015, the spaceport announced repairs on pad 0A had been completed. The launch pad resumed flight operations with the successful Cygnus CRS OA-5 mission on October 17, 2016. Launch Pad 0B (LP-0B) became operational in 1999, and

1435-607: The previous districts in 2021, to hold back-to-back elections in 2022 and 2023 under the newly drawn districts. 37°32′20″N 77°26′01″W  /  37.53889°N 77.43361°W  / 37.53889; -77.43361 Roosevelt Mercer Jr. Retired Maj. Gen. Roosevelt Mercer Jr ., SES, is the director of the Interagency Planning Office (IPO) for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) at

1476-640: Was a long-time advocate for the advancement of this intra-state partnership during her time in office. In 2007, NASA selected the Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corporation to participate in the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, followed by a Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract to build and demonstrate a new rocket, Antares , to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) . This project

1517-661: Was granted a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) license to launch to orbit. The Wallops Island location was first sanctioned in 1945 by NASA's predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics , for spaceflight. With these foundations in place, the Virginia Space Flight Center was founded, located on the southern portion of NASA Wallops Island. In present-day, the facility is approved for launch azimuths from 38° to 60°, making it an ideal location from which to launch to

1558-546: Was installed as the Executive Director of the organization. Prior to his time as a professor, he retired from the United States Navy after twenty years of service. In 1997, Virginia Space entered into a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) , which provided for permitted use of land on NASA Wallops Island . Virginia Space also applied for and

1599-411: Was responsible for the development and implementation of national security policy, military strategy, space and weapons employment concepts and policy, as well as joint doctrine as they applied to the command and execution of its missions. Mercer was also responsible for the development of the nation's strategic war plan, strategic support plans for theater combatant commanders, and contingency planning for

1640-451: Was subsequently upgraded with the construction of a mobile service tower , which was completed in 2004. It remains active, and is currently used by Minotaur rockets. Additionally, Vector Space Systems announced on October 19, 2017 that their upcoming Vector-R rocket will be conducting three launches in the next two years, with an option for 5 additional launches, from a mobile launcher at pad 0B. In October 2018, Virginia Space announced

1681-657: Was taken over by Orbital's successor company Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems . The CRS contract authorized eight missions from 2012 to 2015 carrying approximately 20,000 kg of cargo to the ISS, as well as disposal of waste, from the MARS Pad-0A launchpad. In March 2012, it was announced that Dr. Reed was going to retire from his role at Virginia Space, with Dale Nash, a former executive officer at Alaska Aerospace Corporation , set as his immediate successor. On MARS Pad-0B, Virginia Space made modifications and upgrades to launch

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