2 hangar one.jpg (Photo : www.space.com)
Planetary Ventures, LLC, a subsidiary company of Google, will be leasing the Moffett Federal Airfield (MFA) from NASA for $1.16 billion over the next 60 years and restore the facility's historic Hangar One, a landmark in Silicon Valley since the 1930s.
Also included in the lease are the Hangar Two and Hangar Three, two runways, a flight-operations building and a private golf course.
"Once renovations are complete, Hangar One will again be home to high-tech innovation as Planetary Ventures begins using the historic facility for research, development, assembly and testing in the areas of space exploration, aviation, rover/robotics and other emerging technologies," said NASA in its press statement.
Hangars Two and Three will likewise be used by the Google subsidiary for similar purposes.
The lease agreement with Google should save the government $6.3 million per year in operational costs on top of the $1.16 billion in rent income it will earn.
Moreover, the search giant's subsidiary will be investing an additional $200 million in improvements on the 1,000-acre property, including establishing an educational facility where the public can explore and learn about the site's legacy and the role of technology in the history of Silicon Valley.
Regarding the deal with the Google company, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said: "As NASA expands its presence in space, we are making strides to reduce our footprint here on Earth. We want to invest taxpayer resources in scientific discovery, technology development and space exploration--not in maintaining infrastructure we no longer need.
"Moffett Field plays an important role in the Bay Area and is poised to continue to do so through this lease arrangement," Bolden added.
David Radcliffe, Google's Vice President of Real Estate and Workplace Services, said that they are looking forward to get started and restore the Hangar One, a place that is referred by many as an endangered historic site in the U.S.
As NASA's tenant, Google's Planetary Ventures will begin operation of the site following approval of a joint plan with NASA, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency and the state of California's Regional Water Quality Control Board to ensure continued environmental stewardship and protection of the site.
