NASA Hangar One Moffett Field

NASA Hangar One or Moffett Field’s Hangar One is a one-of-a kind historic treasure and NASA is committed to its preservation.

Now 75 years old, this iconic landmark is showing its age. As a result of a 2003 inspection revealing PCBs and other contaminants are leaking from its metallic exterior, the facility has been closed for the past five years. This year, the Navy announced plans to remove all the contaminated siding material from Hangar One, seal the structural frame and leave the hangar’s framework and flooring standing. However, their plans do not address the Hangar’s reskinning. At the Navy’s recent public hearing on Aug. 26, 2008, members of the community expressed overwhelming support for full restoration.

NASA Ames Research Center assumed control of Moffett Field in the early 1990s.

This photo was taken by stitching 22 images altogether to form panorama view (Click the photo to enlarge)

NASA issued the following statement on the progress of possible Hangar One reuses at the former Naval Air Station, Moffett Field:

NASA remains committed to the preservation and reuse of Hangar One and continues to pursue various reuse options. This spring, Ames discussed several Hangar One reuse concepts, ranging from airships to multi-purpose uses, with Congresswoman Anna Eshoo at her request. For more than 70 years, Hangar One has been a meaningful landmark in the San Francisco Bay Area. NASA Ames is responsible for Hangar One reuse and the Navy is responsible for environmental remediation, as described in the Navy’s December 2008 Action Memorandum, and has agreed to work in collaboration with NASA on this effort.

Below is the archive image of Hangar One in its Golden Age. It was used to store and maintain airship Zeppelin.

Circa 1934 photo of Hangar One with the airship U.S.S. Macon.
Image and information credit: NASA Ames Research Center

by flyingbeagle