The Houston Spaceport’s first tenant lengthened its lease and will initiate a $12M expansion project to continue supporting missions to the moon and beyond.
Intuitive Machines, the space exploration company that in 2015 became the first to sign at Ellington Airport’s commercial spaceport, is adding 3 acres and two buildings to its footprint in Southwest Houston.
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Houston City Council last week approved a lease amendment between Houston Airports and Intuitive Machines, extending the company's term from 20 to 25 years.
The company plans to add a 17K SF spacecraft development and production space, an 8K SF warehouse and storage facility, and 150 parking stalls, it said in a press release last week. The expansion will build on Intuitive Machines’ 105K SF Lunar Production and Operations Center that opened in 2023.
The site has already supported operations for two lunar landings and has programs for missions including Earth reentry systems and lunar terrain vehicle development. Intuitive Machines has three contracts with NASA to deliver equipment and technology to the lunar surface, CultureMap Houston reported.
The new facilities intend to support additional government contracts and scale delivery of spacecraft production.
“Our growth is deeply connected to the City of Houston’s vision for the future of Space City,” Intuitive Machines CEO Stephen Altemus said in the release.
The Federal Aviation Administration licensed Houston Spaceport in June 2015, making it the 10th commercial spaceport in the U.S. to be federally licensed for spaceflight.
“It’s exciting to see [Intuitive Machines] expand,” Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger said in a statement. “We’re starting to reach a critical mass out there — more and more aerospace companies want to be at the Spaceport because that’s where innovation is happening.”
Burns & McDonnell is working with Intuitive Machines to design and build the project.
Separately, Intuitive Machines last week announced a partnership with San Jacinto College and Rhodium Scientific to develop a biopharmaceutical material handling training program.
SJC is the only institution in the southern U.S. to offer training certified by the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training. NIBRT is providing the curriculum for a biotechnology center at SJC’s Generation Park campus.
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