COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Texas A&M University Systems and NASA have announced an agreement to lease 240 acres of underutilized land in Exploration Park to develop a new research facility.
Texas A&M plans to use the facility for human spaceflight research and development that will help the commercial space economy. According to NASA, The lease agreement will allow A&M and others to use NASA Johnson land to create facilities for a collaborative development environment that will increase commercial access and help make the United States competitive in the commercial space and aerospace industries.
The deal was announced AIAA-hosted Ascend Texas (ASCENDxTexas) Conference at South Shore Harbour Conference Center. NASA Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche, Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, and Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh III were all in attendance.
“For more than 60 years, NASA Johnson has been the hub of human spaceflight,” Wyche said. “Exploration Park will be the next spoke in the larger wheel of a robust and durable space economy that will benefit not only exploration of the Moon, Mars, and the asteroids but all of humanity as the benefits of space exploration research roll home to Earth.”
Texas A&M has a long history of supporting space-related research and working with NASA, with many former astronauts working at the University. According to Chancellor Sharp, the university has been a space-grant university since 1989.
“This new agreement and planned facility will allow us to build on our space tradition and help us to be a major part of the commercial space economy,” Sharp said.
In their press release, NASA says will lease the land to the A&M System for an initial period of 20 years, with two additional 20-year options, for a potential total of 60 years.
“For the last 35 years, Texas A&M University has honored its space-grant mission by becoming a powerhouse in human and robotic space exploration,” President Welsh said. “This agreement enables us to leverage faculty expertise, establish strategic partnerships, and develop resources to foster new discoveries, technological innovations, and a future workforce that will benefit Texas and the nation. We are grateful to NASA, the Board of Regents, and the State of Texas for their vision and support of Texas A&M’s work in space exploration.”
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