Funding authority increase generates construction on the base's west side

  • Published
  • By Michael P. Kleiman
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
KIRTLAND AFB, N.M. --  Construction sights and sounds will become common on the west side of Kirtland Air Force Base during the next two years, due to a significant change in federal funding that affects Air Force Research Laboratory projects.

Authority to raise two new buildings on the campus of AFRL's Space Vehicles Directorate falls under section 2805 of title 10, United States Code, Unspecified Minor Construction, Laboratory Revitalization, which now permits underwriting of projects up to $2 million, up from the previous $750,000 cap.

Currently, the organization's Space Sensors and Infrared Radiation Effects labs reside in Building 426, a former dining hall erected in 1958, which has cracks, leaking windows and degraded heating, cooling and ventilation. Because of those deficiencies, both labs are prime candidates for upgrades. The initial step occurred June 7, with the groundbreaking of the SSL, north of the base's west side water tower. Funded in fiscal year 2011, the 6,000-square-foot structure, comprised of two light labs and office space for 15 employees, cost $1.96 million and will open in December.

"Recognizing that space sensor research and development remains a unique capability within the Department of Defense, it was critical for our organization to construct a new Space Sensors Laboratory, as the current facility has been deteriorating," said Michael D. Gallegos, chief, Infrastructure Management Branch, Operations and Integration Division, AFRL's Space Vehicles Directorate. "The new funding authority has been game-changing for us, as $750,000 was not enough to finance construction of a whole lab, but $2 million at least allows us to build bite-size labs that can do game-changing technology for the warfighter."

Contract award for the SSL's sister lab, the IRREL, will occur in September, with construction to begin about a year later. The facilities will be side-by-side, with the IRREL consisting of 5,600 square feet for 15 employees and one lab. Costing approximately $1.95 million, the new edifice, funded this fiscal year, will house another crucial DOD capability for performing and evaluating maturing radiation technology for space-based platforms.

While the two new lab revitalization projects will become operational in the months ahead, the newest Space Vehicles Directorate facility, the Improved Solar Observing Optical Network, is set to open in July. Unlike the SSL and IRREL, the ISOON facility, on the south-central part of the base, was directly funded by the directorate, with construction begun in November 2011. Designed for a staff of four that could surge higher during research campaigns, and featuring 2,266 square feet of space primarily occupied by a north-south-oriented telescope, ISOON replaces a similar complex at the National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, N.M. Built for $1.6 million, the new facility will include a remotely commandable system and will operate only during daylight.

"These three cutting-edge facilities will aid in retaining and recruiting, leading people to better research and improve the scientific process. The two new labs to be built on the directorate's campus will fundamentally improve space sensor technologies and systems," said Gallegos. "Each has its own unique technology. They accelerate space technologies' research and development for the warfighter for near-and long-term research."