NASA's new role: landlord

[Dr Mordrid]

Bottom line: after the shuttle there will be lots of un- or under- used NASA facilities, so they're going to rent/lease them out to commercial space operators. Better than leaving them to rot, and it would give operators like Orbital etc. control centers if they want one.

SpaceX has one at KSC & Bigelow has their own mission control in Las Vegas, but there are a bunch of others that might need a KSC center; Sierra Nevada (Dream Chaser), Virgin Galactic (a joint spaceplane venture with Orbital), etc.

NASA press release....

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PURPOSE OF THIS NOTICE AND REQUEST:

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is seeking to identify potential industry interest in, and proposed uses for some, agency real property assets located at KSC in Florida. This announcement describes NASA assets that are currently or will soon become underutilized as a result of the transition from the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) to the future mission activities authorized by Congress in the NASA Authorization Act of 2010.
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[Dr Mordrid]

This is going way beyond just labs or other buildings - it looks like the entire shuttle launch facility may become available too.

It turns out that request for information and notice of availability formally began the process of finding a future tenant for Launch Complex 39; the shuttle launch pads (39A and 39B), the 52-story VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) that was used to assemble the shuttles and the Saturn V moon rockets, 3 shuttle hangars and the Kennedy Space Center's 15,000 foot runway.

I would note that Launch Complex 39 is immediately next door to SpaceX's Launch Complex 40, where they launch the Falcon 9 and Dragon. Picking up LC 39 would make it much easier for them to set up for and launch the Falcon 9 Heavy etc. without interfering with Falcon 9 operations.

In fact, 39B has already been stripped of its huge shuttle tower etc. and turned into a "clean pad" facility with a smaller tower, which is more in tune with what SpaceX would need.