Kaine Touts Export Opportunities At Orbital’s Satellite Plant
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine made a stop at the Orbital ATK campus Tuesday afternoon to hold a town hall-style discussion and to tour the satellite manufacturing plant.
“I love having a company like Orbital that has such a great brand recognition,” Kaine said. “I’m also proud of you for being a great partner with Loudoun County.”
The governor’s itinerary Tuesday also included a visit to the C.S. Monroe Technology School in Leesburg to meet with students on the RoboLoCo and Geared UP! robotics teams, which teaches science and technology in a fun, hands-on environment.
Kaine, who’s the co-chair of the Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus, highlighted the impact trade deals and the Export-Import Bank have on businesses in the region.
“People around the world love Virginia apples, so we have a lot of our apples get exported,” he said, and Orbital is sharing the fruit of Virginia in its own way.
Orbital CEO Dave Thompson said about 20 percent of the company’s total business comes from exports. He showed Kaine SKYM-1, a satellite that will be shipped from Dulles to Latin America once completed.
“Sen. Kaine has visited here on a couple of prior occasions, and we’re always eager to welcome him back,” Thompson said. “I really think he’s been, like Sen. Warner, a real effective representative for the commonwealth. His ability to fashion compromises to some of these tough national questions really sets him apart from the current political leaders in Washington.”
Orbital employee Chris Richmond said satellites for companies in the UAE, England and Luxemburg areas have been built in Loudoun during the past eight months and more are in the pipeline.
Former astronaut and Senior Vice President Frank Culbertson said he appreciated the governor’s support for spaceflight and the development of a spaceport at the state’s Wallops Island center, where an Orbital rocket carrying supplies to the International Space Station exploded upon launch last year.
“We had been delivering cargo out of Wallops for a couple years and we’ll start again next year when the pad is repaired,” Culbertson said. “And start delivering two to three tons. It’s critical to the future of human spaceflight to be able to do that, and we’re real proud to be a part of that.”
In February, Orbital Sciences merged with the Aerospace and Defense Groups of Alliant Techsystems Inc., creating a $4.5 billion, 13,000-employee space, defense and aviation systems developer and manufacturer.
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