TITUSVILLE, Fla. — Fresh off its $85.7 billion public offering, SpaceX successfully launched another batch of Starlink satellites from California today, even as it continues building toward Starship operations on Florida’s Space Coast.
The company is developing major launch infrastructure at both Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A and Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station as it prepares for future Starship missions in Florida.
A key piece of that effort is the massive 380-foot-tall “Gigabay” assembly facility now under construction, which will serve as the primary processing hub for Florida-based Starship vehicles.
“I would keep my eyes on that Gigabay assembly facility,” said Dr. Don Platt of Florida Tech. “If it looks like it’s finishing up, then you know they’re definitely ramping up and really putting the time and effort into getting things going here sooner rather than later.”
But experts also the Florida timeline still depends on progress in Texas, where Starship test flights continue.
“Maybe with more resources and maybe a faster cadence, we may see that,” Platt said. “We’ve got to get these next, I would say, two more test flights from Texas, though, first.”
SpaceX has previously indicated it hopes to launch Starship from Florida before the end of the year, with COO Gwynne Shotwell telling CNBC that a first flight from the Space Coast could come as soon as this fall, depending on testing progress.
“In my opinion, you have to have at least one totally successful orbital Starship flight from Texas before they could say that they could bring it to Florida,” Platt added.
As construction continues, SpaceX’s Florida footprint is expanding in a way that could reshape launch operations across the Space Coast.
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