SpaceX works to expand rocket launching facilities along Florida's Space Coast

SpaceX Starship second launch delivers excitement, reaching edge of space

SpaceX delivered on its promise of excitement when it launched the Starship spaceship from South Texas on Saturday.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – SpaceX, the company behind the Starship rocket, is planning a $1.8 billion investment along Florida’s Space Coast, aimed at upgrading NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to support future launches of the mega rocket.

SpaceX recently announced plans to construct a 380-foot-tall, state-of-the-art facility, known as a Gigabay, which will support the rapid assembly and refurbishment of reusable rockets.

The company has been launching spacecraft from Florida’s east coast for nearly two decades but has yet to attempt a Starship rocket launch from the Sunshine State.

Starship missions have been exclusively conducted in Texas, but the company believes that once the spacecraft becomes reliable, it will become the new workhorse of the space industry.

"As we work to complete the Gigabay in Florida, we are also designing and planning for a co-located manufacturing facility, similar to the Starfactory in Texas, to enable production of Starships in Florida," the company said in a statement. "To enable initial Starship flights from Florida while our Space Coast Starship manufacturing, integration, and refurbishment facilities are being completed, we will first transport completed Super Heavy boosters and Starship upper-stage ships from Starbase via barge to build up a Starship fleet in Florida. With production, integration, refurbishment, and launch facilities in Florida as well as Texas, we will be in a position to quickly ramp Starship’s launch rate via rapid reusability."

Included in the investment are a new launch pad at Launch Complex 39A and a site at Space Launch Complex 37 at the nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

SpaceX rendering of Florida facility

(FOX Weather)

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The private space company has not yet received federal approval for the Florida site, and environmental impact reviews are still ongoing by multiple agencies.

Several Starship tests in the Lone Star State have led to debris, raising concerns that rocket launches may be harmful to the immediate surrounding ecosystem.

The State of Florida said it anticipates 600 full-time jobs to be based on the Space Coast by 2030, when the Starship program is expected to be well underway.

"Florida continues to set the pace for space innovation, breaking records with 93 launches in 2024—up from 74 in 2023—and the state is on track to continue this record-breaking momentum into the future as a national leader in space manufacturing, launches, and business development," Jared Perdue, the secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation, said in a statement.

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It is unclear if the SpaceX facility in Florida will be up and running by the time NASA plans to use the rocket to launch a crew to the Moon during the Artemis III mission.

The lunar landing could come as soon as mid-2027 but has been pushed back several years due to delays and cost overruns encountered with NASA’s Space Launch System.

Elon Musk has previously said he envisions uncrewed launches to Mars beginning in two years with the ultimate goal of developing a crewed self-sustaining base.

Debris from SpaceX launch spotted over Atlantic Ocean

SpaceX’s attempt at a test mission involving its prized Starship spacecraft appeared to end in disaster on Thursday after debris was spotted raining down to Earth by bystanders in the Caribbean.