VSA Board of Directors Announces Two-Year Extension to CEO Contract
NORFOLK, Virginia. December 15, 2025 - The Virginia Spaceport Authority’s Board of Directors today announced it has approved a two-year extension of the contract for Chief Executive Officer Roosevelt Mercer Jr., Maj. Gen., USAF (ret.) ensuring continued leadership and strategic direction for the organization into 2028.
Since assuming the role in 2021, Mercer has overseen significant organizational progress and has been instrumental in advancing the mission of the Virginia Spaceport Authority (VSA). Under his tenure, the organization has achieved several major milestones, including the expansion of core facilities at VSA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), and development of the new rocket Launch Pad 0-D. The organization has attracted new customers and launch vehicles, advanced new high-capacity infrastructure, and secured additional land to support long-term strategic needs. STEM education initiatives have expanded, delivering greater opportunities for students across the Commonwealth. Altogether, these efforts have strengthened VSA’s economic impact on the Eastern Shore.
“The Board has complete and full confidence in General Mercer, is extremely pleased with his accomplishments over the past four and a half years, and is delighted that he happily accepted the offer for a two-year extension,” said Vice Admiral James D. McArthur (U.S. Navy, ret.), chairman of the Virginia Spaceport Authority Board of Directors. “The Mid-Atlantic Spaceport is on the cusp of a significant increase in operational tempo and will continue to be a stimulus for economic development; the Board wanted General Mercer at the helm. He will not only sustain but will accelerate the growth of VSA’s spaceport operations and enhance economic development opportunities in the Commonwealth.”
The Board emphasized that the contract extension aligns with its long-term strategic vision for VSA, which focuses on expanding launch capabilities at MARS and enhancing economic impact in the Commonwealth.
“General Mercer has consistently demonstrated the forward-thinking leadership that keeps VSA at the forefront of the aerospace industry. His extended tenure not only ensures continuity at a time when the industry is rapidly growing and evolving, but also signals Virginia's continuing commitment to aerospace-related economic development on the Eastern Shore and our role as a national aerospace leader,” said W. Sheppard “Shep” Miller III, Virginia Secretary of Transportation and ex-officio member of the VSA Board of Directors. “I am pleased to join with my board colleagues in this decision and look forward to all that VSA will accomplish under General Mercer's continued guidance.”
Mercer’s current term runs through June 2026, at which time his two-year extension will begin.
“I am deeply grateful to the Board for its continued confidence in my leadership and for the opportunity to serve the Commonwealth for another two years,” said Mercer. “It is an honor to work alongside such a dedicated team as we advance the mission of the Virginia Spaceport Authority.”
The Virginia Spaceport Authority (officially known as the 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, Va., USA. VSA provides 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).
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Lillian Palmbach
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757- 837-3304
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