休斯顿太空港Prepares for the Future

Three anchor tenants are working on facilities and a new taxiway is being developed.

柯林斯航空航天的建设新设施at Houston Spaceport is underway. This 116,000-sq-ft facility will include office space and a manufacturing laboratory space for the company, which builds space suits and life support systems.

Photo courtesy of Houston Spaceport

A year after completing an ambitious infrastructure development, the Houston Spaceport has found three major anchor tenants and is about to undertake the construction of a new taxiway that will fully integrate its operation with Ellington Airport (EFD).

“Make no mistake about it, the world is on the cusp of an aerospace craze. Innovation and technology will drive Houston’s economy forward, and the aerospace industry will be a key part of that,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said at a groundbreaking event for one of the spaceport’s anchor tenants, Intuitive Machines, on Dec. 2.

休斯顿太空港是美国14个由FAA许可的太空港遗址之一，也是第一个位于主要都市区域附近的地方之一。根据拥有和管理太空港的休斯顿机场系统（HAS）的说法，其任务是通过一系列航空航天公司为航空航天创新创造一个焦点驱动的太空程序。

In February 2021, a $21 million Phase I infrastructure project was completed that involved construction of 2.5 miles of streets as well as the development of water, wastewater, electrical power and distribution, fiber optics and communications facilities. The project was handled by a joint venture between Texas Sterling Construction Co. Inc. and Banicki Construction

Since that time, three anchor tenants have begun work on developing facilities at the site: Intuitive Machines and Axiom Space, both based in Houston, as well as Charlotte, N.C.-based Collins Aerospace. The three plan to construct approximately 577,000 sq ft of structures on more than 42 acres of the spaceport property.

Approximately a third of the property allocated for the spaceport – about 150 acres – has now been developed as a shovel-ready site for developers, explains Jimmy Spence, marketing/business development specialist at the spaceport.

“We are at a stopping point for developing the remainder of the property until we identify more tenants,” he says. As new tenants emerge, their specific needs can be integrated into planning the development of additional infrastructure on the site.

The next phase of the Houston Spaceport project will be the construction of a $137 million taxiway that will connect the spaceport facilities to the airport’s runways. Approximately $120 million of the cost is from FAA grants.

这条75英尺宽的混凝土滑行道将与埃灵顿机场的4-22跑道平行运行，从而可以访问整个450英亩的太空港发展。

Spence说：“它本质上将在EFD的东南部创建一个全新的机场。”“这种新的Airside Access将适用于水平发射提供商，MROS和商业航空。”

HAS is currently accepting bids for the design and construction of Taxiway Lima, which could break ground as early as this summer and be completed next year.

In 2015, HAS received a launch site license from the Federal Aviation Administration, allowing Ellington Airport to serve as a launch site for reusable launch vehicles. Due to its urban location, vertical rocket launches are not possible at the Houston spaceport, but it will be able to support spacecraft that take off or land like planes.

去年年底，休斯顿市议会授权创建休斯顿太空港发展公司，为国家资助打开了大门。该资格为德克萨斯州太空港信托基金（Spaceport Trust Fund）提供了500万美元的赠款铺平了道路，该基金将用于Taxiway Project。

在另一项努力中，机场在2018年完成了一座新的1,240万美元的空中交通管制塔，该塔楼设计为可容纳未来太空港口运营的扩展空间。这座143英尺高的塔楼取代了1955年建造的原始塔楼，并在2008年遭受了艾克飓风的损坏。

在现场正在为三个锚租户的物业工作。

商业空间站建设者Axiom Space计划在明年将完全运行的322,000平方英尺总部。一月份，该公司授予了总部位于达拉斯的Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.。为新校园计划的集会，集成和测试设施，建筑和工程第一阶段设计。完成后，Axiom Space占地22英亩的总部校园将用于训练宇航员并建造世界上第一个国际私人空间站。

"For the first time, spacecraft will be built and outfitted right here in Houston, Texas,” says Axiom chief technology officer Matt Ondler. “This facility will provide us with the infrastructure necessary to scale up operations and bring more aerospace jobs to the area.”

Last December, Intuitive Machines broke ground on a $40 million, 125,000 sq-ft operations center that will be completed in spring 2023. Intuitive Designs will use to develop a lunar lander that can deliver commercial cargo and NASA-provided payloads to the moon. The company plans to land a lunar module on the moon this year.

The City of Houston is paying for the construction of the 12.5-acre facility and has a 20-year lease with Intuitive Machines for repayment. Kansas City-based Burns & McDonnell is handling the design and construction of the project. When completed, the center will provide office space for the firm as well as mission control rooms, production areas and a propulsion test facility.

Finally, construction on a 120,000-sq-ft campus for Collins Aerospace is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies Corp. is planning a manufacturing facility on the eight-acre site as well as a dedicated 10,000-sq-ft area for start-ups and universities to collaborate on solving critical space technology challenges, including robotics, medicine and additive manufacturing.

加州C.J. Schexnayder是ENR的编辑新利18备用nd ENR Northwest. He has contributed to ENR's coverage of the construction industry for more than a decade. His work has focused on major projects, industry trends and emerging technology. He previously was the South America correspondent for the magazine based in Lima, Peru. During that time, he covered numerous large-scale infrastructure projects across the region including the Third Lane Expansion of the Panama Canal. In addition, CJ has been an award-winning newspaper reporter in Southern California, Texas and Louisiana.