Google Inks Billion-Dollar Deal for NASA's Moffett Airfield

Moffett Federal Airfield includes about 1,000 acres of land on South San Francisco Bay.

NASA this week signed a lease with Google subsidiary Planetary Ventures for Moffett Federal Airfield (MFA) and its historic Hangar One.

The deal will save the space agency about $6.3 million annually in maintenance and operation costs, and provide a hefty $1.16 billion in rent over the 60-year lease term.

"As NASA expands its presence in space, we are making strides to reduce our footprint here on Earth," Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. "We want to invest taxpayer resources in scientific discovery, technology development and space explorationnot in maintaining infrastructure we no longer need."

"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," said David Radcliffe, vice president of real estate and workplace services at Google.

Hangar One (pictured) is home to a fleet of private jets, including those owned by company execs Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt.

Since 2007, Google had a contract to rent space at Moffett Airfield, as well as secure fuel at $1 per gallon less than other private jet owners. But NASA declined to renew the agreement last fall, and instead solicited bids for the space.

Planetary Ventures in February was selected by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and NASA as the "preferred" company to manage the California-based airfield.

Currently maintained by NASA's Ames Research Facility Center in Moffett Field, MFA includes about 1,000 acres of land on South San Francisco Bay, which includes three hangars, and airfield flight operations building, two runways, and a private golf course.

The new lease will see Planetary Ventures invest more than $200 million in capital improvements to the property, including re-skinning and protecting Hangar One, as well as rehabilitating Hangars Two and Three, upgrading the existing golf course, and creating a public use/education facility.

View original post here:

Google Inks Billion-Dollar Deal for NASA's Moffett Airfield

Related Posts

Comments are closed.