What Google gets in NASA airbase deal

Google has long been known as a company on the cutting edge of technology. But now it’s reaching back for a technology that was big in the 1930s. The world’s largest search engine is striking a deal with NASA to lease an old dirigible hangar in Silicon Valley. And it’s a really long agreement: 60 years. Google will use the hangar for its space and aviation projects. None of this surprises Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Michael Santoli, who says Google sees this as a long-term opportunity. Santoli doesn’t think adding an airship hangar to study space will in any way distract Google from its core business.

Google has a lot of side projects, a lot of passion projects from its founders. And it sees its search engine business as a way to fund its ability to look into the future.

Michael Santoli, Yahoo Finance senior columnist

The company already uses Moffett Field for its top executive’s jets: the field is located on the southern end of San Francisco Bay just a 10-minute drive from the Googleplex headquarters in Mountain View. Last year, Google put on hold a project for a new set of offices at the NASA Research Park, halfway between the airport and Google’s headquarters. The field has been controlled for years by the U.S. space agency, which said it will be saving $6.3 million a year in maintenance costs by leasing it out.

As NASA expands its presence in space, we are making strides to reduce our footprint here on Earth.

Charles Bolden, NASA administrator

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