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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Will NASA Site Find New Life?

A NASA aircraft operation facility in Palmdale is a hub for science and discovery – not a magnet for economic activity. Plans by the City of Palmdale, however, may change that. The city is in talks with Los Angeles World Airports to buy Site 9, the 300-acre property where NASA launches earth and space exploration missions. By gaining control of the property, the city says it hopes to jumpstart redevelopment to attract more income. “We think there is a lot of potential,” said Dave Walter, the city’s economic development manager. “There is another hangar available. There is excess land, so there could be even more development if it proves feasible.” Palmdale officials had hoped NASA Dryden Flight Research Center would be a catalyst for new opportunity when it relocated its operations there in 2007. But the followers never came. Situated next door to a humming aerospace, Site 9 was rundown and unused until NASA decided to anchor one of two hangers there. Even today, the buildings on the site – with the exception of NASA’s hanger and offices – are nearly 30 years old. City officials acknowledge that attracting tenants to Site 9 won’t be easy. “It is a fairly large building and (it) does have some maintenance issues associated with it,” Walter said. The hangars were built for assembling the B-1 bomber and were later used for aircraft repairs. A number of movies, including “The Terminal” and sequels to “Pirates of the Caribbean,” have filmed at Site 9. Before moving into its hangar, NASA spent $6.5 million in modifications and upgrades. LAWA paid $4 million for roof repairs to the building and to install a new central utility plant. Still, several companies have approached the city and the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance to express interest, officials said. A clean energy company toured the empty, 250,000 square foot hangar for possible manufacturing space in early May, said Mel Layne, president of the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance. The energy company – which Layne would not name – indicated that it would need up to 1.5 million square feet for its operations and would need to build on empty land at Site 9, Layne said. “We didn’t go any further,” Layne said “They needed to put together the funds to do (the construction) before we pushed it.” Federal procurement regulations limit NASA’s role in advocating what kinds of businesses come to Site 9. But naturals would be those in aerospace and scientific instruments, said Dryden Flight Research Center Director David McBride. “For companies involved in earth mapping that would be an excellent location,” McBride said. The Palmdale City Council last month approved adding 7,700 acres to its designated redevelopment area to include Site 9 and the adjacent Plant 42 owned by the U.S. Air Force. With that process completed, the city now plans to solicit prospective tenants, especially those that are potential suppliers to NASA, Walter said. “Some of them are people we already talk to,” he said. NASA’s McBride said there are potential advantages to having the city government as its landlord, such as responsiveness in the event of emergencies. The aging infrastructure may result in breaks in the water or sewer lines requiring repair equipment to come a long distance. “The city would be closer than L.A., which is over the hill and further removed,” McBride said. For now, NASA brings stability to Site 9 with a 20-year lease for the hangar and office space. The agency moved five research mission aircraft to Palmdale in late 2007 from Edwards Air Force Base. The move improved access to the planes by foreign scientists and technicians, as NASA requires fewer security measures than a military base. The star of NASA’s fleet is the modified passenger jet turned into an airborne space observatory. The plane carries a 20-ton infrared telescope to peer into deep space. The aircraft began its science operations last November and currently is wrapping up its first phase. At full operation, the plane will fly science missions three times a week. NASA’s McBride says those missions will mean a bump in economic activity – for the city’s hospitality industry. “You will have 50 to 80 science teams coming in and integrating their equipment during short term and long term stays,” he said.

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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