SPACEPORT TONGA

Interorbital Systems' Spaceport Tonga is located in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga. Tonga is a monarchy ruled by King George Tupou V. The country is made up of nearly 180 islands, including the main island of Tongatapu and the neighboring island of 'Eua where Spaceport Tonga is situated. On the Southern tip of 'Eua, Spaceport Tonga is ideally positioned for servicing both equatorial and polar orbits.

Although Spaceport Tonga is located at a non-US location, Interorbital's orbital launches will be carried out in Tonga under a US launch license. Interorbital executives and a Tongan government delegation have had meetings in Washington D.C. with the US AST  (US Office of Space Transportation) regarding launches from the Kingdom. The launch license procedure is well underway. The AST issued IOS' first US Commercial Launch License on October 13, 2000, for ocean-based launches of Interorbital's Tachyon sounding rocket to an altitude of 120 miles. The Tachyon rocket was the precursor to IOS' Common Propulsion Module.  

Spaceport Tonga is situated on a plateau near the edge of a cliff overlooking the South Pacific Ocean. It is  surrounded to the North and West by tropical rainforest---a truly spectacular site!

A serviceable road connects 'Eua harbor, which is located on the North Western shore of the island, to the launch site. The NEPTUNE 30 mobile launch system can be easily trucked to the launch area. IOS team members have recently surveyed the spaceport location shown in the photo below. From the left: IOS founders Roderick and Randa Milliron; (center) Eric Gullichsen,  who is both an Interorbital investor and the Science and Technology Advisor to the Kingdom ; (right) a member of the Tongan nobility and his aide.

Below are photos of the spaceport site looking South and a view over the cliff below.

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