The spaceport is located on the south side of NASA's Wallops Flights Facility. The Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, a state agency, leases the space from NASA.

The port has yet to find a customer, according to Wayne Woodhams, deputy executive director for the Authority. But negotiations are underway with corporations and government agencies, he said.

The site can accommodate the launching of so-called expendable launch vehicles, but could be modified to support other kinds of launches and landings, according to Woodhams.

"Our facilities are flexible enough that we could alter the design to accommodate the cost as they come along," Woodhams said. The earliest a major launch could go up from the site is 2001, he said.

The state of Virginia began investigating the possibility of owning a launch facility in 1992, Woodhams said. In 1994, a group consisting of government officials and industry executives formed to consider the possibility of building the port in response to news of potential Air Force funding. Construction of the port was completed on September 8, 1998.

The Authority is marketing the site with assistance from DynSpace, a subsidiary of DynCorp.