Virginia University Presidents Get Behind-the-Scenes Access to Educational Opportunities at Virginia's Spaceport
Wallops Island, Virginia. August 15, 2025 – The Virginia Spaceport Authority (VSA) successfully hosted its first annual College and University Presidents Summit on August 12–13, 2025, welcoming top leaders from Virginia’s higher education institutions to VSA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, Virginia. Attendees explored opportunities for collaboration in workforce and curriculum development for the rapidly expanding aerospace sector on the Eastern Shore.
The event brought together seven top leaders from Virginia Tech, James Madison University, the Eastern Shore Community College, and Tidewater Community College.
The two-day summit featured a keynote presentation by VSA CEO & Executive Director, Roosevelt Mercer, Jr., Maj Gen, USAF (Ret.), highlighting VSA’s 30-year history, Virginia’s strategic role in the space industry, and the need for future initiatives to strengthen the talent pipeline and support economic growth on the Eastern Shore. Attendees also participated in an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of MARS, including a visit to the spaceport’s four launch pads, UAS airfield, the Payload Processing Facility, the Integration and Control Facility, MARS Command Building, the Assembly Integration and Test Facility, and a windshield tour of the new Launch Team Maintenance Facility.
“The University Presidents’ Summit represents a deeper relationship between the Virginia Spaceport Authority and the Commonwealth’s institutions of higher education,” said General Mercer. “By connecting educational leaders directly with the capabilities and opportunities at MARS, we are building the partnerships needed to prepare Virginia’s future aerospace workforce right here in Virginia. It’s important to note that Virginia has one of only four public spaceports in the nation licensed for vertical launch to orbit and Virginia has one of them. We want to create an enhanced partnership for this crown jewel with the Commonwealth’s educational institutions.”
VSA will host the Presidents’ Summit once a year, expanding participation to additional Virginia colleges and universities and other educational partners across Virginia in the years ahead.
Virginia Spaceport Authority (officially Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority) is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia. VSA owns and operates the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) located at Wallops Island, Virginia, USA. VSA’s mission is to provide assured access to space by operating, maintaining, and growing a premier spaceport, stimulating aerospace-related economic development in the Commonwealth, and promoting educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Media Contact:
Lillian Palmbach
Chief of External Relations
757- 837-3304
Featured Articles
