It’s been no secret that SpaceX has been in the process of building a Starship factory at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. That process could take a few years, but according to SpaceX, they won’t be waiting around to finish it before flying Starship here.
Today, SpaceX updated its website to provide more specifics about how it will speed up bringing their Florida Starship operations to life.
Finishing Pad Construction
According to today’s update, while SpaceX is building their new 380 foot Gigabay in Florida, they will also be working on their new launch pads. “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),” the site said.
How They’ll Do It
SpaceX also disclosed their plan to quickly begin ramping up their Florida Starship flight operations. Until the Starship factory known as Gigabay and an associated manufacturing facility are online, SpaceX plans to build an inventory of Starships in Florida by shipping them by barge from the company’s Starbase in Texas.
With at least one launch tower in place, and Starships arriving by barge, SpaceX said they plan to launch the first Starship from Florida in late 2025 pending completion of environmental reviews. As if that goal doesn’t sound ambitious enough, SpaceX’s announcement also disclosed plans to build another Starship launch facility at SLC-37. SLC-37 has been dormant since the launch of the final Delta IV Heavy rocket last April.
SpaceX’s goal of launching Starship from Florida this year sounds almost impossible, given the vehicle’s early stage of development, not to mention the work left to do in building a Florida launch site. After all, the vehicle is nowhere near mission-capable yet. But, if they managed to do it, it won’t be the first time SpaceX has done the impossible.
You can read all the details of the SpaceX announcement here.
