BigFootsSocks Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 So now that Sierra Nevada scored a contract for the second round of Commercial Cargo Resupply missions, I expect we'll see some important steps on the Spaceport happening soon. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post cspwal Posted March 8, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted March 8, 2016 Looks like Ellington has a rocket on the FAA charts now - we officially have a spaceport! 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Urbannizer Posted September 19, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted September 19, 2016 Houston spaceport development is looking up Houston airport officials are stepping up efforts to lure new aerospace tenants to Ellington Airport, the site of the ninth licensed spaceport in the United States. Last June, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted a launch site license to the airport, allowing Ellington to be used as launch site for reusable launch vehicles. Last year, the Houston Airport System spent 6.9 million US dollars to purchase a 53,000-square-foot office building that will house new spaceport tenants. The building, located near NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, had been solely occupied by Boeing until the company relocated part of its operations on July 31. Boeing now operates from a six-story building to serve the aerospace and defense sectors. Now, Houston aerospace officials are turning up the volume on efforts to land new tenants that will help usher in Houston's ascent into all things space. "We are developing infrastructure of the future and we're just getting it started," said Arturo Machuca, general manager of Ellington Airport and Houston Spaceport. "We still have plenty of good challenges in development ahead of us." The spaceport's first aerospace tenant, Intuitive Machines, moved into the mega-office complex on August 11 where it is building unmanned aerial systems, or drones, for commercial use. "It's a great opportunity and experience for us," said Health Mooney, director of production facilities management at Intuitive Machines. "We're the first ones (tenants) here. This is a burgeoning industry and this place will only grow and we want to be a part of it." Spaceport officials are working to include more aerospace entities into the fold. "We have ongoing conversations with other companies, including the Russian engineering company Progresstech," Machuca said. "They want to set up an operations facility that would be used to serve their US based clientele." Houston officials also have letters of intent from Sierra Nevada Corporation, which plans to transport cargo to the International Space Station, and from Catapult Satellite Applications to lease space at the office complex. Houston officials are also in talks with the Japanese Government Space Industry and South Korean airport officials who have expressed interest in partnering. Another potential tenant is California-based SpaceX, which designs, manufacturers and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft, Machuca said. "We haven't had conversations with them (SpaceX) as of yet," he said. "They could come, but not now. Currently they've been taking off from the Kennedy Space Center. Eventually they want to build a launch site in South Texas." Ellington's spaceport will be a hub for a new generation of space planes that will take off horizontally from Ellington, and once over the Gulf of Mexico will ascend into the lower reaches of space. "The possibilities are limited only by our imaginations," said Michael Wagoner, an inspector with the Houston Airport System. "A lot of what we're looking at is the same thing we had with the space shuttle, which is that you can take off from this airport and you can land at this airport. We're open to all possibilities." Bob Mitchell, president of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, said that development of the Houston Spaceport is moving smoothly. "We're working on a number of agreements that work perfectly into the commercial space model we're trying to create," he said. "We have three confidential projects that are close to decision, and if we land even one of them we are on our way to achieve our goal. It will drive the future innovation and technology for this region and for America." 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllenOlenska Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 I'm a little surprised no one posted this. Was down at my parents, got a look at an actual physical paper. And this was on it. About a grant for infrastructure. http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Grant-seen-as-a-boost-for-Houston-Spaceport-10952195.php 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post AREJAY Posted May 11, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted May 11, 2017 https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/construction-development/ellington-airport-new-tower-spaceport-74364 Quote 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. Quote 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. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reporter Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 Very exciting! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 Houston to Select Design-Builder for Ellington Spaceport by December https://www.virtualbx.com/construction-preview/24842-houston-to-select-design-builder-for-ellington-spaceport-by-december.html Houston (Harris County) - The Houston Airport System (HAS) has begun the process of selecting a design-build firm to install infrastructure for a spaceport at Ellington Airport, and the intent is to have one under contract by December. Contractors were invited June 16 to submit Statements of Qualifications and they are due July 27. The selected contractor would constitute the third component of a development team for the construction of what has already been designated the 10th spaceport site in the United States. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swtsig Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 i bet it looks exactly like the rendering! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinsanity02 Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 Any Haifers associated with NASA or something similar? Like to hear your opinions. Do not know what to make of this. It certainly looks good. It would be incredible if the application lives up to name. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 OK so this is just to hire a design build firm for only the infrastructure, i.e. the storm water drains, streets, electrical duct banks, gas lines and water lines. Not the actual spaceport. Just wanted to make sure we're all on the same page. Only if they iron out their questions for the latter sub phases. At least thats what I get out of this invitation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtNsf Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 wonder if anyone knows of any updates to this project and/or has photos they can post of the construction at Ellington Field (Spaceport Houston) ? Such an exciting project that needs some light on it in this forum. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avossos Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 Flew over it recently. No construction nor air traffic there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gene Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 My friend sent me a text yesterday saying they just put up a sign on the fence at Ellington saying something about Spaceport. She is going to try to go by there again soon to see what it said exactly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllenOlenska Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 The air traffic control tower is going up there. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyt36 Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 (edited) There’s really nothing to report. Those renderings were conceptual marketing drawings ... those buildings were never going to be built as such. Its only real chances for success is to attract companies to locate on EFD property, but even that’s a longshot. Not saying it’s a bad a concept but anyone who interpreted that as something “real” had their head in the stars. HAS was doing things at IAH and HOU ... it was EFD’s turn. Definitely EFD’s best long-term hope but it really is a marketing gambit. The idea that spacecraft need a control tower ... Edited April 19, 2018 by mattyt36 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllenOlenska Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 I'm not aerospace engineer, but I figure a horizontal takeoff and landing spaceplane really needs a control tower. I'm sorry I'm on this control tower, but it's there and it's big. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Clean19 Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 I'm sure it is tied in with the testing of supersonic speeds over Galveston. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyt36 Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 4 hours ago, Mr.Clean19 said: I'm sure it is tied in with the testing of supersonic speeds over Galveston. What is tied in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyt36 Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 6 hours ago, EllenOlenska said: I'm not aerospace engineer, but I figure a horizontal takeoff and landing spaceplane really needs a control tower. I'm sorry I'm on this control tower, but it's there and it's big. Control towers in general are becoming obsolete. http://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/air-traffic-control-towers-removed-from-airports But their advantage is really to monitor ground traffic. It's not like there will be a lot of spacecraft taking off, landing, and taxiing at any given time. The control tower was more of a vanity project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 Even with a remote control location, you still need to have an elevated platform for the camera systems. In the US, it is still in the developmental stages - a demonstration airport is in Leesburg, VA https://www.leesburgva.gov/government/departments/airport/remote-air-traffic-control-tower Current space launch operations are done by remote - the launch control center at Kennedy Space Center for example has windows facing the launchpads, but everyone inside is actually facing away from the windows (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Launch_Control_Center) For horizontal take-off and landing space ships, I suspect that it will be treated more like aircraft - and for now that means a control tower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyt36 Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 7 hours ago, cspwal said: Even with a remote control location, you still need to have an elevated platform for the camera systems. In the US, it is still in the developmental stages - a demonstration airport is in Leesburg, VA https://www.leesburgva.gov/government/departments/airport/remote-air-traffic-control-tower Current space launch operations are done by remote - the launch control center at Kennedy Space Center for example has windows facing the launchpads, but everyone inside is actually facing away from the windows (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Launch_Control_Center) For horizontal take-off and landing space ships, I suspect that it will be treated more like aircraft - and for now that means a control tower. Trust me, the EFD control tower has absolutely nothing to do with the Spaceport. It was spun that way, but I can assure you it doesn’t. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Probably a response to the air traffic then. With hobby nearby, a VFR approach seems ill advised 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyt36 Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 7 hours ago, cspwal said: Probably a response to the air traffic then. With hobby nearby, a VFR approach seems ill advised What does VFR have to do with a control tower? What does VFR have to with proximity to HOU? IFR doesn’t make a difference when it comes to avoiding traffic. If I had to guess 99% of operations at EFD are VFR as it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Some new info about the Space Port this morning on archdaily https://www.archdaily.com/909686/aerial-futures-explores-commercial-space-travel-at-the-houston-spaceport Video: 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AREJAY Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 Do we know what phase 2B consists of? www.cohtora.houstontx.gov/ibi_apps/WFServlet.ibfs?IBIF_webapp=/ibi_apps&IBIC_server=EDASERVE&IBIWF_msgviewer=OFF&IBIAPP_app=soldpermits&IBIF_ex=sold_permit_d&CLICKED_ON=&PN=19057550&PT=13 Quote ELLINGTON SPACE PORT INFRASTRUCTURE PHASE 2B (BSG-2019-27-EFD) Project No: 19057550 Date : 2019/06/07 00:00:00 USE : ELLINGTON SPACE PORT INFRASTRUCTURE PHAS Owner/Occupant : ** Job Address : 13200 SPACE CENTER BLVD 77059 Valuation : $ 17,200,000 Permit Type : 13 FCC Group : Buyer : *TEXAS STERLING-BANICKI, LLC Address : 20810 FERNBUSH LN 77073 Phone : (480) 320-4358 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timoric Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 (edited) - Edited July 12, 2019 by Timoric 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ZRFkris Posted June 27, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted June 27, 2019 14 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtNsf Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 Great news ! This will be an exciting project once it gets going in earnest. Look forward to competing with California for Space Travel ports !!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyt36 Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 FYI, phase I is infrastructure + a 50,000 sf building only. From the article: The Houston Airport System will celebrate the groundbreaking of phase 1 — an $18.8 million project — with a ceremony at Ellington Airport at 13150 Space Center Blvd. The scope of the project’s first phase includes streets, water, wastewater, electrical power and distribution, fiber optics and communications facilities, according to a June 26 media advisory from HAS. The first phase will also include the construction of 53,000 square feet of lab and office space, according to the HAS website. Some 154 acres of land are set aside for phase 1. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Urbannizer Posted September 12, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted September 12, 2019 https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/phase-one-of-houston-spaceport-under-way/45972 16 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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