Ellington Airport has broken ground on a new traffic control tower that will allow it to live up to its new branding as the Houston Spaceport.
The tower will stand 143 feet tall, nearly double the height of the current one. It will be fitted with technology necessary to be mission control for NASA missions, and down the road, potential private space travel, News Talk Texas reports.
The $12.4M project was designed by Aecom, and Clark Construction Group is the general contractor. Completion is scheduled for 2018, when it will replace the original, which was built in 1955.
Already a base for NASA, Coast Guard and Air Force activities, the Spaceport is leasing space to several technology companies with the goal of becoming an aviation and space travel technology hub. While it does not serve commercial airline passengers, it is eyeing a future where it could do so for passengers to the stars.
