NASA Goes Green

 

HOUSTON — The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is typically more concerned with what happens in outer space, but NASA has taken significant steps recently to make sure it leaves behind a smaller footprint here on planet Earth.

 

A new addition to a NASA procurement office at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston earned a LEED Gold rating, bringing the number of LEED-certified buildings at Johnson Space Center to three.

 

Approximately 5,400 square feet of office space at the space center’s Building 265 was renovated. The project earned LEED points from efficient lighting systems, and for using low-VOC emitting and recycled building materials, a large portion of which was sourced from within 500 miles of the space center.

 

Several other buildings are currently awaiting LEED scores, including the center’s public affairs office, an exploration avionics integration facility, and a new office. The space center’s human resources building is also undergoing a major renovation, which is being targeted for LEED Platinum.

 

Earlier this year in Huntsville, Ala., an engineering facility at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center received LEED Gold certification. Building 4601 was completed last year and is considered the first NASA building to earn the designation. 

 

Building 4602, also under construction at the Marshall Space Flight Center, is scheduled for completion in November, when it will be submitted for LEED certification.