NASA leases Moffett Federal Airfield to Google for $1.16 billion

It has taken quite some time, but technology giant Google can now lay claim to owning an airfield that they can make use of, at least for a prolonged period of time. Why do we say so? Google’s very own Planetary Ventures wing has decided to sign a lease with NASA which would enable it to manage the Moffett Federal Airfield. The entirety of the Moffett Federal Airfield would include a trio of hangars, a couple of runways, and heck, why not throw in a golf course for good measure?

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.”