Boeing De Soto Heliport

The heliport's closure was a direct result of the significant downsizing and eventual cessation of primary operations at the Boeing De Soto campus which it served. As Boeing wound down its aerospace engineering, research, and manufacturing activities at the site following the end of programs like the Space Shuttle, the need for a corporate heliport for executive transport and other logistical purposes was eliminated. The closure was part of a broader corporate restructuring, facility consolidation, and the beginning of a multi-decade environmental remediation project on the property.

The site of the former heliport is now an indistinct paved lot within the largely demolished and inactive Boeing De Soto campus. The entire 80-acre property is a secure, non-public area undergoing a massive, long-term environmental investigation and cleanup project. This remediation, overseen by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), is addressing soil and groundwater contamination from decades of industrial activity, including the use of rocket fuels, solvents, and work related to nuclear energy research. The former helipad area is simply part of this large remediation site.

The Boeing De Soto Heliport was a private facility that served one of America's most important aerospace and nuclear research complexes. The site was originally home to North American Aviation's Rocketdyne and Atomics International divisions, later becoming part of Rockwell International and then Boeing. The campus was a critical center for the U.S. space program, where engineers developed and tested the powerful F-1 and J-2 rocket engines for the Apollo program's Saturn V rocket, as well as the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME). The heliport facilitated the transport of company executives, government officials from NASA and the Department of Defense, and visiting dignitaries. It played a support role in the logistics of a facility that was at the forefront of the Space Race and Cold War-era defense and energy projects.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening the heliport. The primary aerospace facility it was built to support no longer exists, and the land is encumbered by a long-term environmental cleanup. Future use of the property, once remediation is certified complete, is anticipated to be for commercial or light industrial redevelopment, none of which includes plans for a new aviation facility.