Google has secured
the lease of a NASA airbase in San Francisco for 60 years, possibly to house
their upcoming space-exploration vehicles and robotics research.
The agency's press release at Dyman & Associates Risk
Management Projects indicated that the lease, which will cost the tech
giant $ 1.16 billion, is for " research, development, assembly and testing
in the areas of space exploration, aviation, rover/robotics and other emerging
technologies".
NASA Administrator Chris Bolden said, "As NASA expands
its presence in space, we are making strides to reduce our footprint here on
Earth." He added that the agency
wants "to invest taxpayer resources in scientific discovery, technology
development and space exploration – not in maintaining infrastructure no longer
needed."
According to the report, a real-estate offshoot of Google
called Planetary Ventures will be managing the Moffett airbase and will take
over the $200 million improvement to the site, which includes educational
facilities to let the public "explore the site's legacy".
The 1,000 acres of airfield in the southern part of SF
Bay include two runways, a golf course,
office space, NASA's Ames research center and three hangars, one of which is
the iconic Hangar One. It's expected that the agency will save around $6
million worth of operation and maintenance expenses per year because of the
lease.
Hangar One is one of the biggest freestanding edifice which
covers 8 acres and was constructed in the 1930s for US naval airships. In 1966,
it was recognized as a US Naval Historical Monument but has recently been
placed as an endangered historic place according to a Dyman & Associates Risk
Management Projects' press release.
“GSA was proud to support NASA in delivering the best value
to taxpayers while restoring this historic facility and enhancing the surrounding
community," said Dan Tangherlini of the US General Services
Administration.
The Moffett lease shouldn't really come as a surprise as
it's practically just next to Googleplex
HQ. In fact, it's already servicing private jets owned by the company's
executives such as Sergey Brin, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt.
Both Brin and Page, the firm's co-founders, are evidently
interested in space exploration and aviation as shown by their X Lab's Project
Loon and Project Moonshot. Their company has also acquired satellite and
robotics firms recently such as Meka Robotics and Redwood Robotics.
NASA and Google have also previously teamed up in 2005 when
the latter made office at the agency's research facility and launch a new lab.
