The space agency has an unusual problem: space.

A recent review of NASAs land holdings on earth revealed a new challenge for the agency: poorly maintained, aging facilities once used for research and development or space vehicle construction, now essentially useless.

NASA spends about $1.1 billion annually on maintenance and upkeep of its more than 5,400 buildings, landing strips and other unique sites; but approximately 9 percent of its real property assets arent being used, NASA told FoxNews.com. The solution, according to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG): lease them.

Kennedy leases a clean room where Apollo capsules were readied 40 years ago to Lockheed Martin. Boeing is building space taxis in a processing hangar where shuttles were once routinely readied to soar. And there are plenty of others, from Rolls-Royce and Google to local schools and, in areas where businesses arent interested, parks, gardens and visitor centers.

But not enough, according to Paul K. Martin, NASA Inspector General.

Per a 2010 directive, NASA must divest itself of property it has no immediate plans for.

A new report examining leasing practices revealed holes in the agency's efforts to lease.

Despite frustration at Centers, headway is being made

Few incentives exist for NASA to identify underutilized property as unnecessary to its mission needs, he concluded in the August report.

Olga Dominguez, NASAs assistant administrator for the office of strategic infrastructure, agreed that the agency wasnt 100 percent sure how many buildings and facilities were unusued. Part of the challenge, she said, was the changing nature of the space agencys mission. As NASA has refocused from the space shuttle to the private space industry, its needs have changed as well.

Link:

NASA, We Have a Space Problem — Costing Million$