Houston Spaceport is preparing for blast off.
A new space enterprise will join the likes of NASA and the Johnson Space Center. This past Wednesday, Houston Spaceport, the world headquarters for Axiom Space, has begun construction on its wing at the Ellington Airport.
On May 11, the enterprise held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new state-of-the-art campus, that which is said to contain: “employee offices, astronaut training, and mission control facilities, engineering development and testing labs, and a high bay production facility to house Axiom’s space station modules under construction.”
Its ceremony, and corresponding press release, honored the Houston’s past aerospace institutions which have together christened it with its title of Space City, including: Apollo, Space Shuttle, and ISS programs.
“From this Axiom Space headquarters campus, we will continue the progress in space that will revolutionize life back home,” said Axiom Space President & CEO Michael Suffredini in a press release.
“We are proud to be an anchor tenant of the Houston Spaceport and ensure the future of human spaceflight and the space economy is centered in the city where it all began.”
The Houston Spaceport campus will span over 20 acres in the south quadrant of the Ellington Airport under the ownership and management of the Houston Airport System.
“These are historically exciting times for us all. As the city that helped put men on the moon, Houston continues to lead the way in technology and innovation,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said.
“Axiom Space has set itself apart from others in the private space industry. Our city – Space City – couldn’t be prouder for our own Houston Spaceport to serve as home base for such momentous commercial and academic advancement.”
The construction process will take place in two phases. The first of which comprises of 106,000-square-feet of “assembly integration and test facilities” with the goal of completion in April of 2023.
Phase two will see the construction of “facilities for labs, mission operations and training, aircraft operations, and office space.” The company did not mention when it expects phase two to be complete.