Google now has its own airfield, thanks to a $1.16 billion deal to lease NASA's Moffett Federal Airfield over the course of 60 years. NASA reports that the company will use the field for expansion of its space research, aviation and robotics programs.

Google subsidiary Planetary Ventures LLC will take over operations for the airfield, which Google's executives are already using for landing private jets.

Moffett Airfield includes the historical Hangar One, one of the world's largest freestanding structures, a building covering around 8 acres of land. Although initially built in 1933 as a naval airship hangar, it also served as a set location for the 2009 movie remake of Star Trek, as well as a popular location for several episodes of MythBusters.

NASA hopes Google, whose main headquarters is only four miles away in Mountain View, will put Hangar One to use again.

"Hangar One is an important landmark in Silicon Valley," says Dan Tangherlini, administrator for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). "GSA was proud to support NASA in delivering the best value to taxpayers while restoring this historic facility and enhancing the surrounding community."

Google's lease also includes the 1,000 acres of land located at the airfield, near South San Francisco Bay, including two other hangars, a flight operations building, two runways and a private golf course. The company will spend over $200 million to restore buildings in the area, as well as set up a public educational facility at the site outlining the area's role in history and technological innovation.

"We are fortunate to have had significant input from surrounding communities on setting a future path for Moffett Field," says S. Pete Worden, NASA's Ames Research Center director. "With the involvement of the citizens of Mountain View and Sunnyvale, we are confident the results will benefit all parties."

NASA approved Planetary Ventures for the lease back in February, but as of today, the deal is official.

Google is no stranger to such huge and unusual purchases. Last year, Google placed barges in San Francisco Bay and off the coast of Maine for an "interactive space" for new technology, such as Google Glass and self-driving cars. Google, however, abandoned that project when Coast Guard officials cited the barges as fire hazards.

Google also has a history with NASA. In 2005, Google put an office in one of the agency's research facilities for experimenting with quantum computers and artificial intelligence.

[Photo Credit: Wiki Commons]

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