A new facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will be built for applied research and development to advance commercial and defense space manufacturing.
NASA announced Thursday that its signed a 20-year lease agreement with the American Center for Manufacturing and Innovation to establish the Space Systems Campus just outside of Johnson Space Center’s controlled access area.
The Space Systems Campus is part of the development of Johnson’s 240-acre Exploration Park. The private-public lease is the second such agreement allowing industry and academia to use NASA-leased land to collaborate and keep the country at the top of the market for space and aerospace industries.
The contract could stretch out to 60 years if the two 20-year options in the contract are exercised.
“ACMI Properties will develop this Campus to serve the needs of our future tenants, aerospace industry, the Department of Defense and other significant stakeholders that comprise our ecosystem approach,” explained Simon Shewmaker, head of development for ACMI Properties. “Our aim is to support human spaceflight missions for the next 40 years and beyond.”
Representatives from U.S. space and defense agencies will gather on March 5 for the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Space Summit in Virginia. Registration is still open for interested participants.
