By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – NASA has selected a Virginia-based company to provide launch range operations support at its Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
The Wallops Range Contract has a total potential value of $339.8 million, including a one-year base period and four one-year option periods that could extend the contract through 2031, according to NASA.
Contract documents show the base performance period is scheduled to begin Feb. 10, 2026.
Wallops Flight Facility, located on Wallops Island in Accomack County, is owned and overseen by NASA and serves as the agency’s only NASA-operated launch range. NASA contracts with private companies to handle day-to-day launch range operations while maintaining oversight of missions and safety requirements.
Under the contract, ARES Technical Services Corporation, which is headquartered in McLean, Va., will provide technical and operational support for launch range activities at Wallops.
The scope of work covered in the contract includes radar, telemetry, tracking, logistics, and communications services for flight vehicles such as rockets, aircraft, satellites, balloons, and uncrewed aerial systems, along with range control operations.
The contract also covers information and computer systems services, as well as testing, installation, and sustainment of communications and electronic systems at launch facilities, range control centers, and test facilities. Additional responsibilities include range engineering support and technology sustainment services.
While most work will take place at Wallops, the contract also supports operations at related tracking and test sites, including NASA’s Bermuda Tracking Station and the Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska, along with other temporary duty locations as needed.
ARES has also received other recent NASA work. In 2025, the agency selected the company for a safety and mission assurance services contract valued at up to $226 million, supporting NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Wallops Flight Facility.
NASA’s presence in Virginia extends beyond Wallops. According to the agency’s most recent state economic impact data, NASA supports more than 24,000 jobs statewide through a mix of federal employees, contractors, research funding, and procurement tied to facilities such as Wallops and the Langley Research Center.
Wallops has operated in Virginia since 1945 and supports a wide range of NASA launch and flight test missions.