KSC-2011-2277

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Land clearing and construction of a new road at the Exploration Park site begins outside of the Space Life Sciences Laboratory (SLSL) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The fill dirt being used to develop the first phase was donated by Port Canaveral as part of an agreement between the port and Space Florida, the park’s partner developer. The first phase will encompass 60 acres just outside Kennedy’s security gates. Nine buildings will provide 350,000-square feet of work space, including educational, office, research and lab, and high-bay facilities. Each building is expected to be certified in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED).Exploration Park is designed to be a strategically located complex, adjacent to the SLSL, for servicing diverse tenants and uses that will engage in activities to support space-related activities of NASA, other government agencies and the U.S. commercial space industry. It also is expected to bring new aerospace work to the Space Coast. The SLSL will be the anchor facility for the park, which is expected to open its first new facility in early 2012. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann