Google To Lease and Refurbish Naval Air Base For Space Exploration

Taco Cowboy writes Google has signed a long-term lease for part of a historic Navy air base, where it plans to renovate three massive hangars and use them for projects involving aviation, space exploration and robotics. The giant Internet company will pay $1.16 billion in rent over 60 years for the property, which also includes a working air field, golf course and other buildings. The 1,000-acre site is part of the former Moffett Field Naval Air Station on the San Francisco Peninsula. Google plans to invest more than $200 million to refurbish the hangars and add other improvements, including a museum or educational facility that will showcase the history of Moffett and Silicon Valley, according to a NASA statement. The agency said a Google subsidiary called Planetary Ventures LLC will use the hangars for "research, development, assembly and testing in the areas of space exploration, aviation, rover/robotics and other emerging technologies." NASA plans to continue operating its Ames Research Center on the former Navy site. Google will take over operations at the runways and hangars, including a massive structure that was built to house dirigible-style Navy airships in the 1930s. NASA said the deal will save it $6.3 million in annual maintenance and operation costs.

Comments

Amazing... BUT

[gwstuff]

...how can a publicly traded company possibly justify such investments to stockholders?

Re:who'd ever thought...

[gstoddart]

starfleet would be started by a search engine.

I'm going with Ferengi, and not Starfleet.

I'm no longer willing to attribute quite so noble goals to Google. It's all about the rules of acquisition.

Think Grand Nagas, not Ghandi.

No taxes

[Atmchicago]

This is what a mega-corporation can afford to do when it doesn't pay taxes.