posted 07-01-2015 03:07 PM               

Houston, we have a spaceport: FAA gives 'Space City' license for launches

The Houston airport where astronauts have departed on training flights for more than 50 years is now host to the United States' newest commercial spaceport.

The Houston Airport System (HAS) on Tuesday (June 30) was granted a launch site license from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) establishing Ellington Airport near the NASA Johnson Space Center as the tenth commercial spaceport in the country.

"Houston has a rich history in space operations. We have a first-class airport system that already connects Houston to the rest of the globe. We want to make sure that airport system is part of connecting Houston to space," Houston Mayor Annise Parker said at a press conference Tuesday.

posted 11-04-2015 03:58 PM               

HAS, NASA enter into agreement to support Houston Spaceport

The Houston Airport System (HAS) and NASA have entered into an agreement today that will allow the new commercial spaceport developing at Ellington Airport (EFD) to tap into the federal space agency's assets and expertise, expanding the possibilities for the growing commercial spaceflight industry.

Under the Umbrella Agreement — made possible by NASA's Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate — HAS and NASA will collaborate, providing access to a number of the unique capabilities at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), including things like safety-specific training, facilities, and technology capabilities, to support suborbital operations and commercial spaceflight endeavors.

"The Johnson Space Center represents an invaluable asset for the entire City of Houston and especially for those of us who are working to establish Houston Spaceport as a force within the aerospace industry," says Houston Airport System Director Mario C. Diaz. "One of the primary reasons why the City of Houston made such perfect sense as the site for the nation's 10th commercial spaceport is the existence of strong intellectual capital at JSC and the willingness of their leadership team to form substantive partnerships."

The Houston Spaceport at EFD became the 10th commercial spaceport in the United States when it received a license from the Federal Aviation Administration in June 2015 to support operations of horizontally launched Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLVs). The agreement with NASA offers access to the JSC's unique capabilities in several areas, including risk analysis, engineering analysis, mission operations, training, spacecraft systems testing and mission execution.

The ultimate goal is to make the Houston Spaceport a focal point for aerospace innovation — a regional center for a cluster of aerospace entities that would act as an incubator for aerospace innovation and growth. As part of this effort, HAS is developing a design center that will facilitate collaboration between NASA, the FAA, and the aerospace industry.

System Safety Fundamentals training stresses the analytical process of system safety management and hazard analysis of hardware, software, and operations. Additional concepts and principles are introduced on risk assessment, risk management, and hazardous operations. The NASA Safety Training Center (NSTC) at the Johnson Space Center provides unique safety training that enables students to meet uniform engineering/technical requirements for processes, procedures, practices and methods that have been endorsed as a standard for NASA programs and projects.

Unlike system safety training available in the commercial marketplace, NASA's course provides examples and discussion specifically related to aerospace. A system safety course with a focus on aerospace is directly applicable to the types of operations envisioned to be conducted at the Houston Spaceport. In addition, NSTC instructors provide training on the causes and outcomes of aerospace accidents and incidents which is not available from other sources.

The agreement helps NASA achieve its functions as expressed in the National Aeronautics and Space Act to "seek and encourage, to the maximum extent possible, the fullest commercial use of space." In addition, because safety is a core value at NASA, this partnership helps NASA in its mission to transfer its knowledge and expertise in system safety to the private sector as part of its mission to disseminate information, to enable it to encourage the development of a commercial space sector mission operations capability for operating in low Earth orbit.

posted 11-10-2015 12:39 PM               

Purchase of building at Ellington a key step in Houston Spaceport development plans

The Houston Airport System completed an important step in the functional launch of the Houston Spaceport was taken on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015, when Houston City Council members approved the $6.9 million purchase of an aerospace engineering building and land adjacent to Ellington Airport.

Using airport funds for the purchase, the 53,000 square foot building will house a shared use manufacturing and general office facility, and already has prospective tenants. The airport system has received a letter of intent to lease from both Intuitive Machines and UK-based Catapult Satellite Applications, and expects to receive others in the near future.

Houston Airports will modify the building and eventually have small and large companies housed on the same campus to encourage collaboration. The co-working space would conceivably include an incubation space for early-stage companies, more permanent offices for developing companies and even larger facilities for companies that need room to mass produce their products.

"This facility becomes the first dedicated infrastructure for the Houston Spaceport project," said Arturo Machuca, the General Manager at Ellington Airport who successfully led the HAS effort to obtain a Launch Site License from the Federal Aviation Administration. "This building will allow us to solidify ongoing commercial relationships with established and emerging aerospace companies. The concept of developing an innovation district as part of the Houston Spaceport project is a key element in achieving the far-reaching goal of developing the aerospace industry into a successful commercial endeavor."

Located on 4.30 acres of land that abuts the west side of Ellington Airport near existing Boeing Company offices and National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Sonny Carter Training Facility, the Boeing Company currently occupies the Houston Product Service Center and plans to continue to use a portion in connection with its NASA contracts.

More details on the plans for the co-working space and incubator concept will be announced at the SpaceCom Conference in Houston next week.

posted 04-24-2017 01:43 PM               

Ellington Airport breaks ground on new control tower

Mayor Sylvester Turner and Aviation Director Mario Diaz were among the dignitaries on hand April 24, 2017, for the ceremonial groundbreaking for the latest enhancement in the evolution of Ellington Airport — a new, state-of-the-art air traffic control tower.

The $12.4 million project will replace the existing tower, which was built in 1955 and suffered structural damage in 2008 during Hurricane Ike. The new tower will feature new technology that will both enhance the service provided the airport's current tenants, and also provide mission control support for future Houston Spaceport operations.

The new tower will stand 143 feet, nearly twice as tall as the existing tower. The new tower will feature new radios to improve communication with planes. The airfield's lighting-control system will be updated to a more robust and reliable system. An automated weather observation system also will be installed. That new system can determine cloud heights, temperature, rainfall amounts, the presence of lightning in the area and other conditions.

"This is an important step forward for Ellington Airport, and a critical project to ensure the vital aviation operations based there can be carried out safely and efficiently," said Houston Aviation Director Mario C. Diaz.

By unanimous vote on March 8, 2017, City Council approved a plan that calls for the use of the $3.1 million Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant from the state and $9.3 million from the Houston Airport System Airport Improvement Fund. The project is eligible for $2 million in grant funding through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Improvement Program, and if approved that money would be returned to the airport system's Airport Improvement Fund.

The Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant will help cover the cost of designing and constructing the new tower, including a utility building, utility yard and parking area, and the purchase and installation of navigational and communication equipment necessary for effective operation.

The new tower is vital to the continuation of all Ellington Joint Reserve Base military and aviation missions, and all other general aviation activities. The Ellington JRB is utilized by the Texas Air National Guard, Texas Army National Guard and the Coast Guard as aviation operational centers and hubs of distribution supporting federal and state civil authorities.

The tower will enable the Joint Reserve Base to provide air traffic services and ensure timely and safe establishment of aviation operational centers by the military services, as well as support the continuation of all aviation missions, safely, in a high traffic area of mixed high performance military and civilian commercial air traffic.

The new tower will be built adjacent to the current tower, which will remain in use until the new structure is completed, and is expected to be operational by the end of next year.

"Construction of this tower shows the commitment the Houston Airport System has to Ellington and its future," said Ellington Airport General Manager Arturo Machuca, "and furthers our support for our military partners at Ellington."

posted 06-28-2019 02:37 PM               

Houston Spaceport celebrates the beginning of Phase 1 development with ground-breaking ceremony

What began as a concept four years ago took its official first steps toward concrete reality with a ground-breaking ceremony on June 26, 2019, to celebrate work on Phase 1 of the Houston Spaceport at Ellington Airport.

Representatives from the Houston Airport System, Houston City Council, the Federal Aviation Administration and community and project partners were on hand to celebrate the beginning of work on the development of 154 acres in Phase 1.

The first new construction since June 2015 when the FAA approved the application for the 10th commercial spaceport license in the United States, work already is underway. The project scope includes providing streets, water, wastewater, electrical power distribution facilities, and fiber optic and communications facilities necessary to attract future development.

"When complete, Phase 1 will provide the ground work to support the companies that produce the cutting-edge innovations needed to take commercial space travel and aviation into the sub-sonic, super-sonic and hyper-sonic realm," Houston Aviation Director Mario Diaz said.

Phase 1 of the Houston Spaceport project offers potential tenants and partners a unique environment in which to collaborate as well as an operational platform to achieve critical business objectives. By housing organizations from across several industries and disciplines on one campus, the "innovation incubator" concept will foster and accelerate key aerospace engineering activities, including:

• Component and composite development and fabrication
  
• Space vehicle assembly
  
• Zero-gravity scientific and medical experiments
  
• Microsatellite deployment
  
• Astronaut training and development
  
• Space tourism

Eventually, when all 450 acres at Ellington Airport available to the project are fully developed, the Houston Spaceport will become a focal point in the region for aerospace research, manufacturing and commercial space operations.

posted 12-22-2020 08:27 PM               

Houston Spaceport Slated to Become Home to the World's First Commercial Space Station Builder

Axiom Space's flight training and assembly headquarters will bring more than a thousand jobs to the greater Houston area.

Houston Spaceport, the nation's 10th commercially licensed Spaceport, will be home to the world's first commercial space station builder, Axiom Space. The aerospace company announced plans to create a 14-acre headquarters campus to train private astronauts and begin production of its Axiom Station—the world's first free-flying, internationally available private space station that will serve as humanity's central hub for research, manufacturing and commerce in low Earth orbit.

"While we have confronted the challenges of a global pandemic this year, our work to move our city forward never stops. Today's announcement is another leap that demonstrates how Houston embraces humankind's boldest challenges and lives-up to every bit of its namesake - The Space City," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. "With Axiom Space at the Houston Spaceport, we expect to energize our workforce by adding more than a thousand high-quality jobs and engage our communities that are focused and dedicated to the STEM fields."

The new Axiom Space Headquarters campus will be located in phase one of the 400 acres Houston Spaceport at Ellington Airport, EFD. The first phase, 153 acres, was completed in December and includes vital infrastructure like streets, utilities, robust communications systems. The Houston Spaceport is ideally located minutes from downtown Houston.

"We had a vision of Houston Spaceport bringing together a cluster of aviation and aerospace enterprises that would support the future of commercial spaceflight," Houston Airports Aviation Director Mario Diaz said. "Today, we have an urban center for collaboration and ideation, a place where the brightest minds in the world can work closely together to lead us into the next frontier of space exploration."

Axiom Space's Houston Spaceport headquarters campus will include the construction of approximately 322,000 square feet of facility space to accommodate Axiom Station modules and terminal building space to house private astronauts, operations, engineering and other requirements. The campus will have ease of access to the Ellington airfield.

"Houston Spaceport represents an ideal headquarters location with its infrastructure and benefits as well as its co-location at Ellington Airport," Axiom Space CEO Mike Suffredini said. "The opportunity to build high-bay hangars where we can assemble the Axiom Station while simultaneously training our private astronauts for missions gives us the flexibility we need as we build the future of commercial space."

The development is estimated to bring more than a thousand jobs to Houston, which already has one of the highest concentrations of engineering talent in the nation. Johnson Space Center, which employs more than 11,000 people and utilizes airfields at Ellington Airport, is just minutes from the Houston Spaceport.

"Axiom Space's announcement is a game-changer for Houston as we extend our position as a commercial aerospace leader," President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, the economic development organization serving the Greater Houston area, Bob Harvey said. "Houston is a city built on innovation with a technology-focused workforce, and this move adds to the region's momentum as one of the country's leading next-generation tech hubs."

One of Houston Spaceport's tenants includes Intuitive Machines, a private company that secured a NASA contract to build the NOVA-C Spacecraft, a nearly 13-foot lunar lander that will deliver cargo to the moon in 2021. San Jacinto College has also invested in building its Edge Center, the official education partner for Houston Spaceport that offers aerospace training and career pathways for students.

"The same great environment that produced so many technological advancements in Houston's past is, once again, creating its next successful venture into space – Axiom Station – the world's first commercial space station," President of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership Bob Mitchell said. "The synergies now being realized at the Houston Spaceport – between Houston's dynamic industry partners, its world class training and academic providers, and its far-sighted community investors – are not only benefitting Axiom but will only get stronger over time. We are all in this together and the best is yet to come!"

posted 05-11-2022 02:48 PM               

Axiom Space Breaks Ground on New Headquarters and Space Station Production Facility at Houston Spaceport

The future of low-Earth orbit and human spaceflight in Space City, has a new base of operations as Axiom Space breaks ground on a new state-of-the-art headquarters in Houston.

On Wednesday, May 11, commercial space leader Axiom Space and the City of Houston celebrated groundbreaking at the company’s new, long-term headquarters at Ellington Airport, the site of the Houston Spaceport. There, Axiom Space – which is developing Axiom Station, the world’s first commercial space station – will construct a campus containing employee offices, astronaut training, and mission control facilities, engineering development and testing labs, and a high bay production facility to house Axiom’s space station modules under construction.

“From this Axiom Space headquarters campus, we will continue the progress in space that will revolutionize life back home,” Axiom Space President & CEO Michael Suffredini said. “We are proud to be an anchor tenant of the Houston Spaceport and ensure the future of human spaceflight and the space economy is centered in the city where it all began.”

Houston’s leadership in the Apollo, Space Shuttle, and ISS programs earned its title as Space City, the home of human spaceflight.

Now Axiom Space is adding a new accolade to Space City, for the first time in the city’s history it will be home to the development and construction of human-rated spacecraft thanks to Axiom Stations modules, which will be outfitted and assembled at Axiom’s facility at the Spaceport.

“These are historically exciting times for us all. As the city that helped put men on the moon, Houston continues to lead the way in technology and innovation,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. “Axiom Space has set itself apart from others in the private space industry. Our city – Space City - couldn’t be prouder for our own Houston Spaceport to serve as home base for such momentous commercial and academic advancement.”

Axiom Space has partnered with Jacobs, Turner Construction Company, Savills, and Griffin Partners to expand the company’s headquarters at Houston Spaceport. Jacobs, in close collaboration with Axiom Space, designed the assembly, integration, and testing facility. Axiom Space has contracted with Turner for site construction. Savills real estate firm represented Axiom Space in the lease negotiations, and Griffin Partners is providing development management services for the project.

The development of Axiom Space's Spaceport property will be developed in two phases. Phase I includes 106,000 square feet of assembly integration and test facilities and aims to be completed by April 2023. The second phase will add facilities for labs, mission operations and training, aircraft operations, and office space.

This is Axiom Space’s latest accomplishment as it grows the commercial space industry and expands access to low-Earth orbit to a broader international community. Axiom Space recently welcomed home the crew of Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) after successfully completing the first all-private astronaut mission to the ISS, a precursor mission to Axiom Station. The company has also signed agreements with several nations including Italy, Hungary, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to fly on future space missions.

Axiom Space was founded in Houston in 2016 by Michael Suffredini – NASA’s ISS Program Manager from 2005 to 2015 – and space entrepreneur Kam Ghaffarian to build the world’s first commercial space station and develop commercial space infrastructure that will drive a thriving low-Earth orbit economy. The company currently employs more than 400 people, the majority of which work at its current Houston facilities and has plans to grow the number to 600 by the end of 2022 and 1,000 by 2025.