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.

Virginia Space also applied for and was granted a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) license to launch to orbit.

[5] The Wallops Island location was first sanctioned in 1945 by NASA's predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, for spaceflight.

[6] With these foundations in place, the Virginia Space Flight Center was founded, located on the southern portion of NASA Wallops Island.

[8][9] 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).

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.

[26] The facility suffered significant damage during the 28 October 2014 Antares launch failure, according to NASA officials in the immediate aftermath.