Dan Schmelzer provides a little tour of Wallops Island and its environs, with pictures.

I’ve never been there, and found this interesting:

As you may know, SpaceX and NASA are in preliminary discussions for the Falcon 9 to launch from Wallops for International Space Station servicing missions. After visiting the area around the spaceport, it strikes me that the rocket is large for launching as close as a couple miles from inhabited areas. I do not think that Wallops has launched a rocket even close to the size of the Falcon 9. Also, the infrastructure in the surrounding area — such as roads and railroads — don’t appear to be suitable for large rockets. I guess SpaceX would have to barge its rockets in. But if SpaceX does launch from Wallops, it would be quite a sight to see.

I wonder if they’ve done the quantity-distance calculation? While politically, it makes a lot of sense to use Wallops (it gives Senators Mikulski and House Majority Leader Hoyer reason to support it), the FAA may not allow them to do it if it’s too close to populated areas. We’ll see what happens with the launch license application.

I also wonder if the local residents know what they’re in for acoustically, since they’re used to much smaller rockets.