TIME Business Tech Google Leases NASAs Silicon Valley Airfield Crew members walk the Solar Impulse to its hangar following a test flight at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California April 19, 2013. Robert GalbraithReuters Google plans to use the sprawling facility for research and develop space and robot technology

With dreams of an increased footprint in space, NASA is cutting back on its Earthly properties.

The agency said Monday it will lease its Moffett Field airbase in Silicon Valley to a shell company owned by Google. The tech giant will pay $1.16 billion over the course of a 60-year lease, according to NASA.

Google plans to use the sprawling facility for research and testing in the areas of spaceships, robotics and other technologies.

Located on 1,000 acres in southern end of San Francisco Bay, the Moffett lease is expected to save NASA approximately $6.3 million annually in maintenance and operation costs, the agency said. The airfield home to NASA Ames Research Center, including an airfield, a golf course, office space and several giant hangers that once housed blimps.

As NASA expands its presence in space, we are making strides to reduce our footprint here on Earth, said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden in a statement. 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, he added.

In February, NASA had agreed to negotiate exclusively with Google to lease the property. The base is close to Googles headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., and its airfield is home to a fleet of private jets owned by Googles co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, along with executive chairman Eric Schmidt.

Google had previously signed a deal to develop a new office complex on 42 acres at Moffett Field. But last year, the company halted those plans, possibly to await an agreement to manage the entire facility.

Under the latest deal, Planetary Ventures, Googles real estate arm, is expected to pump $200 million in improvements to the property, including refurbishing a hangar and creating a facility for the public to explore the sites legacy and learn about Silicon Valley.

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Google Leases NASAs Silicon Valley Airfield

NASAs next vehicle designed to carry astronauts to space is set to launch early next month atop a trusty Delta 4 rocket for a crewless test flight. Current plans call for a piloted flight in the new Orion spacecraft in the mid-2020s, when the vehicle will ride atop a new NASA heavy-lift rocket to take astronauts beyond Earth orbit for the first time in a half-century. Whats far less certain in the postspace shuttle era is where theyll go from there.

If the Obama administration and NASA have their way, the astronauts will be visiting a small asteroid that will have been nudged by a solar-powered robotic probe into a high, stable lunar orbit. During the monthlong mission the astronauts will rendezvous with the asteroid, perform spacewalks to gather samples and then return to Earth. The target asteroid has yet to be announced and a robotic space tug has yet to be built but NASA hopes to have the space rock relocated to the moons vicinity as soon as 2021.

NASA calls this complex concept the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) and bills it as the first crucial step toward human missions to Mars in the 2030s.

Others arent so sure. In June of this past summer the National Research Council issued a report stating ARM could divert US resources and attention from more worthy missions. A month later NASAs Advisory Council criticized ARM as a dead-end element on the path to Mars. The harshest criticisms of all surprisingly came from asteroid scientists who voiced their discontent via statements from NASAs Small Bodies Assessment Group, calling ARMs science not compelling. Mark Sykes, director of the Planetary Science Institute, blasted ARM in September while testifying to a congressional committee, saying that NASAs cost estimate of less than US$1.25 billion for the robotic component of the mission strains credulity.

NASA

One option would involve sending a robotic probe to snatch a piece of rock from a large asteroid.

Im not a big fan of human space exploration as performance art, which is what ARM is, Sykes says. Because the problem with performance art is that your next trick has to be bigger than your last trick and that quickly gets unsustainable. ARM will never be funded. It will never happen. Its a waste of money. It doesnt advance anything and everything that could benefit from it could be benefited far more by other, cheaper, more efficient means.

Michele Gates, NASAs program director for ARM, says that the mission concept is meeting its developmental milestones and that an independent cost assessment study is underway. She and other NASA officials note that the advanced propulsion required for ARM would be enabling technology for a broad range of future missions and that ARM would be a crucial test for many deep-space activities crucial for someday reaching Mars. And it would do all this while keeping astronauts sufficiently close to home so that if something goes wrong, they could attempt an emergency return to Earth.

Last year, when the National Research Council released their report, we had very little detail on the ARM concept while their technical panel was doing their analysis, Gates says. Given the amount of work that has been done in the past year, and the positive reception weve received from so many communities to our most recent sharing of results, I would encourage everyone to look at the latest data.

ARMs fortunes now appear more fragile than ever, and its fate may have already been sealed by this years midterm elections, in which Republicans opposed to the mission took control of Congress. Still, NASA plans to conduct a formal review of the ARM concept in February 2015, and the Obama administrations next budget proposal is expected to request more funding for ARM, its signature effort in human spaceflight.

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File photo.(REUTERS/Francois Lenoir)

Google has done a deal with NASA allowing it to lease Moffett Federal Airfield, a vast chunk of land that includes three hangars, two runways, and a golf course.

While NASA will rake in more than a billion dollars in rent and make big savings on maintenance costs over the 60-year lease term, Googlewill have an enormous space close to its Mountain View headquarters where it intends towork on projects linked to space exploration, aviation, and robotics. A few rounds of golf will no doubt be enjoyed, too.

Related:Google said to be considering historic LA aircraft hangar foroffice space

Planetary Ventures, the Web giants real estate arm that signed the deal, has promised to spend $200 million on renovating the property, some of which will go toward the creation of an education facility for the public so they can learn more about the role technology has played in the history of Silicon Valley, and discoverthe storyof the historic airfield, which was constructed in the early 1930s.

Related: NASA ends discount jet fuel deal for Google executives private jets

NASA and the US General Services Administration, which will retain ownership of the land, selected Planetary Ventures to operate the site back in February, though the deal has only just been inked.

Google company executives, including founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, have for a number of yearsbeen using the conveniently located airfield as a base for the tech firms fleet of private jets. But with news of the deal with NASA, theyre likely to be making a lot more trips to the base from hereon in.

[Source: NASA]

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Google inks NASA deal

Published November 10, 2014

Scientists at NASA are testing a new aircraft wing surface capable of changing shape during flight, which aims to make airliners quieter and significantly boost fuel efficiency.

Researchers have replaced an airplanes traditional aluminum flaps with shape-changing assemblies that can form bendable and twistable surfaces, according to NASA. Flight testing will determine whether flexible trailing-edge wing flaps are a viable approach to improve aerodynamic efficiency and reduce noise generated during takeoffs and landings, it said, in a statement.

Part of a research project called Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE), which involves NASA and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, the technology uses aircraft flaps designed by Ann Arbor, Mich.-based FlexSys.

Thanks to funding provided by the Air Forces Small Business Innovative Research program, FlexSys has developed a variable geometry airfoil, dubbed FlexFoil, which can be fitted onto existing and new aircraft frames.

The technology is being tested on a modified Gulfstream III aircraft at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

NASA said that during the initial flight, the wings experimental control surfaces were locked at a specified setting. Different flap settings will be used on subsequent flights to collect data on how the wing technology performs.

The first flight went as planned -- we validated many key elements of the experimental trailing edges, said Thomas Rigney, ACTE Project Manager at NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center. We expect this technology to make future aircraft lighter, more efficient, and quieter. It also has the potential to save hundreds of millions of dollars annually in fuel costs.

NASA is not the only organization looking to apply new technology to air travel. A U.K. company, for example, has unveiled a concept for commercial planes where windows will be replaced by full-length smart screens showing the view outside the aircraft.

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NASA eyes revolutionary aircraft wing technology

The tech giant will pump $200 million into the 1,000-acre property, which is located on South San Francisco Bay, California, NASA said. The deal will see Google-subsidiary Planetary Ventures pay NASA a total of $1.16 billion in rent.

The airfield includes three storage facilities for air or space craft, known as Hangars One, Two and Three, as well as a flight operations building, two runways and a private golf course.

Read MoreGoogle execs got huge jet fuel discounts, NASA says

Hangar One was built in 1933 and is one of the world's largest freestanding structures.

"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," NASA said in a statement.

There are also plans to renovate Hangars Two and Three, and create an educational facility, "where the public can explore the site's legacy and the role of technology in the history of Silicon Valley".

Read MoreGoogle Glass hopsinto business with tech partners

"We look forward to rolling up our sleeves to restore the remarkable landmark Hangar One, which for years has been considered one of the most endangered historic sites in the United States," David Radcliffe, Google's vice-president of real estate and workplace services, said in a statement.

NASA said the deal was part of its efforts 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," Charles Bolden, NASA administrator, said in a statement.

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Google needs space; rents NASA airfield

In a bid to reduce costs and shed surplus property, the US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has signed a 60-year lease with Planetary Ventures LLC - a shell organisation operated by Google for real estate deals - to manage Moffett Federal Airfield (MFA) in California and restore its historic Hangar One.

Google will initially invest more than $200 million into the site, NASA said in a statement.

It is estimated that the lease will save the US space agency approximately $6.3 million annually in maintenance and operation costs and provide $1.16 billion in rent.

MFA, currently maintained by NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, includes approximately 1,000 acres of land located on South San Francisco Bay.

The land includes Hangars One, Two and Three, an airfield flight operations building, two runways and a private golf course.

"As NASA expands its presence in space, we are making strides to reduce our footprint here on Earth," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.

"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 continued.

After a fair and open competition, the US General Services Administration (GSA) and NASA selected Planetary Ventures, LLC as the preferred lessee in February 2014 and began lease negotiations.

"Hangar One is an important landmark in Silicon Valley. GSA was proud to support NASA in delivering the best value to taxpayers while restoring this historic facility and enhancing the surrounding community," added GSA administrator Dan Tangherlini.

"We look forward to rolling up our sleeves to restore the remarkable landmark Hangar One, which for years has been considered one of the most endangered historic sites in the United States," noted David Radcliffe, vice president of real estate and workplace services at Google.

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NASA signs 60-year lease with Google

Google is renting 1,000 acres of a historic California air base for space exploration, aviation and robotics projects. NASA says Google subsidiary Planetary Ventures LLC will pay $1.16 billion in rent over 60 years for the property. It's part of Moffett Field, a former U.S. Navy air base in the San Francisco Bay Area that's also the home of NASA's Ames Research Center. Google will manage the property, a local landmark that includes a working airfield, private golf course and a massive hangar that was built to house dirigible-style Navy airships in the 1930s. Google plans to refurbish three hangars on the property.

NASA says the deal, first announced in February and finalized Monday, will save it $6.3 million in annual maintenance and operation costs. "As NASA expands its presence in space, we are making strides to reduce our footprint here on Earth, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. We want to invest taxpayer resources in scientific discovery, technology development and space exploration not in maintaining infrastructure we no longer need.

First published November 10 2014, 2:38 PM

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