SpaceX announced today that it is expanding its Starship operations in Florida and will be bringing Starship production and launch capabilities to the Space Coast. “Really big things are coming to Florida!!!!” said SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell on the X platform today.
In addition to the construction announcement, SpaceX also stated that it wants to launch Starship from Florida this year.
While development and flight testing of Starship continue at Starbase, Texas, the company is simultaneously building a new integration facility called Gigabay near its HangarX location at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
The expansion of Starship production and launch operations in Florida is expected to significantly boost the vehicle’s build and flight rate and SpaceX’s activities here on the Space Coast. Starship is set to become the first fully and rapidly reusable launch vehicle, unlike Falcon 9, which is only partially reusable and requires a new second stage for each flight. While Starship is initially slated to provide support for Artemis as a lunar lander, ultimately, SpaceX aims to transport millions of tons of payload to Mars using, laying the groundwork for what the company plans to be a self-sustaining city that will make humanity a multi-planetary species.
Gigabay Facility At KSC
The new Gigabay facility in Florida will be a state-of-the-art structure standing 380 feet tall, offering approximately 46.5 million cubic feet of interior processing space. It will feature 815,000 square feet of workspace, which includes ground-level areas, elevated platform workspaces, and an upper-floor meeting and work area.
Designed to support Starship and Super Heavy vehicles up to 266 feet tall, Gigabay will house 24 work cells for integration and refurbishment, with cranes capable of lifting up to 400 US tons. Compared to SpaceX’s current largest integration facility, Megabay at Starbase, Gigabay will provide over 11 times the workspace, 19 additional work cells, and double the crane lifting capacity.
By comparison, NASA’s VAB covers eight acres, is 525 feet tall and 518 feet wide, and has 128 million cubic feet of space, roughly three times the volume of the Empire State Building.
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
Construction of Gigabay in Florida is already underway, with completion and operational status targeted for the end of 2026. Concurrently, SpaceX is also developing another Gigabay at Starbase in Texas, adjacent to the Starship Starfactory manufacturing facility, with a similar completion timeline. A facility similar to Starfactory is also planned to be built here in Florida.
Starship Boosters and Ships To Be Initially Barged To Florida
While the new Gigabay and Starfactory are completed, Super Heavy boosters and Starship upper-stage Ships will be built in Texas, and then transported from Starbase via barge to establish a fleet in Florida. With integrated production, refurbishment, and launch capabilities in both Florida and Texas, SpaceX is poised to scale up Starship’s launch frequency rapidly.
Plans For The Starship Pad At LC-39A
SpaceX plans to complete the Starship launch pad at Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center this year while undergoing environmental impact assessments for potential future Starship operations at LC-39A and Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS).
The Starship pad at LC-39A has been partially completed for several years now, and according to today’s announcement it will be completed and put into use.
SLC-37 at Cape Canaveral
SpaceX is also exploring the possibility of launching Starship from SLC-37 at CCSFS to meet the increasing flight rate required for humanity’s expansion into space. This would not only include launches for cargo and crew but also propellant tankers needed for on-orbit refueling. SpaceX has been granted a limited Right of Entry to SLC-37 to conduct due diligence and advance the Environmental Impact Study (EIS), which is being led by the Department of the Air Force.
SLC-37 has a rich history, having been used by NASA for Saturn I and Saturn IB rocket launches during the Apollo program from 1964 to 1968. More recently, it was used for Delta IV rocket launches between 2002 and 2024. SpaceX’s potential use of SLC-37 represents a new chapter in the history of this iconic launch site.
According to the company, “SpaceX has been given a limited Right of Entry for SLC-37 in support of conducting further due diligence of the site in order to move forward with the Environmental Impact Study (EIS), led by the Department of the Air Force, for Starship and Super Heavy Operations at CCSFS.” The completion of that EIS study is expected later this year.
SpaceX’s Announcement, Verbatim
March 3, 2025
In addition to continued infrastructure development at Starbase, Texas, where SpaceX is headquartered, SpaceX is expanding its Starship operations in Florida, bringing Starship production and launch capabilities to the Space Coast. As flight testing and development of Starship continues at Starbase in Texas, SpaceX is building a new integration facility, called Gigabay, next to its HangarX location at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Additionally, SpaceX plans to complete the Starship launch pad at Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center this year while the Environmental Impact Statements continue for potential Starship flight operations from both LC-39A and Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS).
Expansion of Starship production and launch operations in Florida will enable SpaceX to significantly increase the build and flight rates for Starship, which will be the first rapidly and fully reusable launch vehicle in history. Access to space is a critical and growing need for U.S. national security, leadership in science, the country’s exploration goals, and for the growth of the economy. Starship will ultimately be responsible for sending millions of tons of payload to Mars – building a self-sustaining city to make humanity multiplanetary.
GIGABAY
The Gigabay in Florida will stand 380 feet tall and provide approximately 46.5 million cubic feet of interior processing space with 815,000 square feet of workspace, including ground level, elevated platform work areas, and a work and meeting space on the top floor. Gigabay will be able to support Starship and Super Heavy vehicles up to 81 meters (266 feet) tall and will provide 24 work cells for integration and refurbishment work, along with cranes capable of lifting up to 400 US tons. Compared to the Megabay facilities in Starbase, currently SpaceX’s largest stacking and integration buildings, Gigabay provides more than 11 times the square-footage for workspace, 19 additional work cells, and more than twice the crane lifting capacity.
Site preparations for Gigabay in Florida have already begun, with construction targeted to be complete and the facility operational by the end of 2026. At the same time, we are also building another Gigabay at Starbase in Texas, next to our Starship Starfactory manufacturing facility. Work on this Gigabay has already begun, and the facility is targeted for completion by the end of 2026.
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. 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.
STARSHIP AT THE SPACE COAST
To support initial Starship launches from Florida, SpaceX is building a Starship launch and catch site at LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. This Starship pad at LC-39A will include learnings from Starship’s first two pads in Starbase. In 2022, we stacked the launch tower at LC-39A. In the coming months, teams will build and install the pad’s deflector system, which provides cooling and sound suppression water during Starship launches and catches. This new deflector will be nearly identical to the one being installed to support the second launch pad at Starbase. Pending completion of environmental reviews, SpaceX intends to conduct Starship’s first Florida launch from LC-39A in late 2025.
To support the needed Starship flight rate to make humanity a multiplanetary civilization, which involves not only the launch of cargo and people but also the propellant tankers to enable on-orbit refueling, SpaceX is also interested in enabling Starship launches from SLC-37 at CCSFS. SpaceX has been given a limited Right of Entry for SLC-37 in support of conducting further due diligence of the site in order to move forward with the Environmental Impact Study (EIS), led by the Department of the Air Force, for Starship and Super Heavy Operations at CCSFS. SLC-37 was built in the late 1950s and early 1960s. NASA used the pad from 1964 to 1968 for testing of the Saturn I and Saturn IB rockets as part of the Apollo program. From 2002 to 2024, the pad was used for the Delta IV rocket.
