- "You know where NASA was running it?"
"They weren't. An independent contractor proposed the project, ran things out of a lab complex. Facility shut down years ago." - ―Jemma Simmons and Luther Banks[src]
The Distant Star Facility is an abandoned private laboratory used by NASA's Project Distant Star Return.
History[]
Project Distant Star Return[]
- "Distant Star Pathfinder. It was the program NASA was in the middle of when Roz and I... joined."
- ―Luther Banks to Jemma Simmons[src]
In 2001, one of HYDRA's leaders, Gideon Malick, approached NASA and offered them to run Project Distant Star Return to explore space using the Monolith. NASA readily accepted the proposal, as it would be funded by Malick. The whole operation took place in the external Distant Star Facility under the oversight of NASA. While posed as a project to research the Monolith and explore Maveth, Malick sought to use the project as a means of finding Hive and bringing him back to rule Earth. NASA successfully sent an astronaut, Will Daniels, and three scientists, G. Taylor, Brubaker, and S. Austin, through the Monolith.[1] With Malick officially serving on the World Security Council[2] and the Monolith stored on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s aircraft carrier Iliad[3], the project was put on hold and facility was abandoned.[4]
Ambush[]
- "HYDRA's taken Fitz and Simmons."
"How is that possible?"
"There was an ambush at the Distant Star facility." - ―Alphonso Mackenzie and Daisy Johnson[src]
Phil Coulson ordered Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Luther Banks and two agents to investigate an abandoned Distant Star Facility. As they came to the facility, Banks had killed the two agents and swiveled to point the gun at Fitz and Simmons. Fitz begged him not to kill them, but Banks managed to say that he was not controlling the gun before it floated out of his hand, turned, and shot Banks in the head. Giyera revealed himself as the cause of the deaths and explained that Gideon Malick needed Fitz and Simmons, and ordered the two to follow him to HYDRA.[4]