Houston Spaceport to become home to world’s first commercial space station builder
Axiom Space Logo (Axiom Space)
HOUSTON - Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced on Tuesday that the Houston Spaceport will become home to the world’s first commercial space station builder.
Axiom Space, an aerospace company, announced plans to create a 14-acre headquarters campus to train private astronauts and begin production of it’s Axiom Station - the world’s first free-flying, internationally available private space station that will serve as humanity’s central hub for research, manufacturing and commerce in low Earth orbit.
The new headquarters will be located in phase one of the 400 acres at Houston Spaceport at Ellington Airport. The first phase, which was 153 acres, was completed in December and includes vital infrastructure like streets, utilities, and robust communications systems.
SIGN UP FOR FOX 26 HOUSTON EMAIL ALERTS
Axiom Space’s Houston Spaceport headquarters campus will include the construction of approximately 322,000 square feet of facility space to accommodate Axiom Station modules and terminal building space to house private astronauts, operations, engineering and other requirements. The campus will have ease of access to the Ellington Airport.
"While we have confronted the challenges of a global pandemic this year, our work to move our city forward never stops. Today’s announcement is another leap that demonstrates how Houston embraces humankind’s boldest challenges and lives-up to every bit of its namesake - The Space City," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. "With Axiom Space at the Houston Spaceport, we expect to energize our workforce by adding more than a thousand high-quality jobs and engage our communities that are focused and dedicated to the STEM fields."
"Houston Spaceport represents an ideal headquarters location with its infrastructure and benefits as well as its co-location at Ellington Airport," Axiom Space CEO Mike Suffredini said. "The opportunity to build high-bay hangars where we can assemble the Axiom Station while simultaneously training our private astronauts for missions gives us the flexibility we need as we build the future of commercial space."
FOR THE LATEST NEWS UPDATES, DOWNLOAD THE FOX 26 NEWS APP
"Axiom Space’s announcement is a game-changer for Houston as we extend our position as a commercial aerospace leader," President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, the economic development organization serving the Greater Houston area, Bob Harvey said. "Houston is a city built on innovation with a technology-focused workforce, and this move adds to the region’s momentum as one of the country’s leading next-generation tech hubs."
The development is estimated to bring more than 1,000 jobs to Houston.