Wallops Island

Wallops Island (wälˈləps) [key], island, 6 sq mi (15.5 sq km), Accomack co., E Va., off the Atlantic coast of the Delmarva pensinsula S of Chincoteaque island. NASA has a facility there and on the neighboring mainland; the island is one of the oldest rocket launch sites (est. 1945) in the world. Launches are primarily of sounding rockets.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.