HAMPTON, Va. - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is requesting information from industry as the agency develops a part of its Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., into a proposed Aerospace Innovation Development (AID) Hub.
While more than half of the center’s 760-acre footprint currently sits undeveloped, officials say the expansion will directly leverage Langley's world-class workforce. The center's researchers and engineers currently spearhead high-priority national initiatives in hypersonics, airspace autonomy, space exploration systems, and flight technology validation.
At the forefront of the AID Hub's mission is accelerating high-priority national aerospace initiatives, with an emphasis on hypersonic technologies. NASA Langley hosts the agency's Research Center of Excellence and runs a comprehensive suite of hypersonic wind tunnels and maintains a fleet of piloted and uncrewed aircraft.
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By providing access to these assets, NASA aims to enable partners to engage in secure, interagency, and international collaboration capable of advancing high-speed flight, advanced thermal protection, and next-generation propulsion development.
Advanced air mobility and eVTOL
Beyond hypersonic atmospheric flight, the development framework targets advancements in airspace autonomy and regional air mobility being driven by the nascent advanced air mobility (AAM) sector enabled by electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
The proposed infrastructure includes specialized facilities for testing and evaluating autonomous flight systems, smart layering for uncrewed air traffic management (ATM) and flight-based technology validation. NASA says these capabilities are intended to serve as a bridge for commercial tech firms and defense contractors prototyping collaborative combat aircraft, uncrewed cargo logistics, and advanced urban air mobility (UAM) in its highly controlled testing environment.
Deep space
The AID Hub's technical scope also expands into deep space exploration as NASA hopes to develop the Hampton, Va., area into a vital East Coast center for payload processing and off-Earth infrastructure development.
Initial development concepts call for the creation of large-scale, integrated lunar and Mars simulation facilities designed to support NASA priorities. These specialized testing grounds will enable researchers and commercial aerospace companies to evaluate heavy payload entry, descent, and landing (EDL) systems, as well as autonomous surface construction technologies.
Available land
NASA has cleared 325 developable acres across seven primary parcels - plus another 150 acres with strict environmental/cultural restrictions - as it seeks interest and ideas from industry, academia, and other non-federal government entities to lease and develop the NASA Langley AID Hub in whole or in part.
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To accommodate companies and research needs, NASA says it is willing to adjust Langley's security perimeter and move parcels outside its main security fence to allow easier public and partner access. This interest should be from entities aligned to long-term operations of the NASA Langley AID Hub, which the agency is establishing to enable and grow private sector and intergovernmental participation in Langley’s mission.
The agency intends to utilize Enhanced Use Leases (EULs) to develop long-term public-private partnerships. While NASA hopes to secure a handful of key "anchor" tenants from industry and academia, officials said that they would be open to a single-entity developer taking full responsibility for financing, infrastructure development, and subtenant management. The agency notes that in either scenario, NASA plans for minimal day-to-day operational involvement, but will keep final approval over subtenant selections to ensure the land use meets goals.
While NASA's RFI will remain open until 30 June 2027, initial expressions of interest are requested by 31 July 2026, including conceptual plans for some or all of the parcels. The agency also plans to host an initial Industry Day in September.
The primary point of contact for this RFI is Michael Bauman. They can be reached via email at [email protected]. More information, including land descriptions, is available at https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/df7df2c76a324788ac9e17eedf0e6e09/view.
