Does NASA Need To Sell More of its Stuff?
Congressman questions whether NASA has let go of enough unused property, Washington Post
“NASA is in the midst of a huge yard sale at Kennedy Space Center, peddling unused hangars, assembly buildings, launch complexes and even a landing strip to commercial space companies.
But at the request of Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla.), Congress soon may be asking whether the space agency is cleaning out the closets thoroughly enough. Mica said he will call for a congressional hearing early next year to explore NASA’s options for land or buildings that might no longer be needed among the 140,000 acres and scores of facilities at the space center.”
– NASA OIG: NASA’s Efforts to Reduce Unneeded Infrastructure and Facilities, earlier post
– NASA OIG: NASA’s Real Property Master Planning Efforts, earlier post
– NASA’s Infrastructure and Facilities: Assessment of Agency’s Real Property Leasing Practices, earlier post
NASA is not selling land or facilities, it is leasing facilities. If it sells undeveloped land, it will be developed, and the largest environmental preserve on the east coast of Florida, and the clear area that permits launches, will be irreversibly reduced.
My reaction exactly. And selling NASA assets predicts a poor future.
A congressional investigation? This is going to waste vastly more money than the small amount that might be saved by speeding up the excess process, or the even smaller amount of payment that NASA would get for selling old facilities at government-excess prices.
Congress is looking to save money, but it’s pretty clear that they don’t have any idea how to do so, or what’s important and what isn’t.
This is a process that needs to be looked at from a Historical preservation perspective also. The LUT rotted and was destroyed with no fanfare as many of the so called Apollo artifacts ended up. The property is of value to the country if it can be NASA re-purposed in a logical way or leased to a responsible and relevant private client. If no purpose can be found then all property held at the cape and other NASA stations should be open hearing evaluated for Historical preservation. This should be done before both sides of the aisle start eyeing liquidation or demolition. We do not need to repeat 1978 all over again now that we have once again burned our ships in the harbor.
Although a minor thing, the sharing of excess equipment through the Stevenson Wylder act has helped a lot of schools