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After building a Launch Tower at LC-39A in 2022 and planning a Roberts Road Starfactory, SpaceX has put these ambitious projects on hold to focus on its Starship Program at Cape Canaveral. Yet, the company hasn’t stopped there. With the redesign of the Starship Pad at LC-39A and plans for a much larger production facility at Roberts Road, SpaceX is poised to establish a significant Starship presence in Florida.
Roberts Road
SpaceX is clearing land just north of its Falcon 9 refurbishment hangar, Hangar X, to create a new production site for the Starship program. This site will include a 1.5 million square foot Starfactory, 50% larger than the one at Starbase. The Starfactory will feature two Mega Bays— one for Boosters and one for Ships—and a smaller High Bay that is rarely used.
Adjacent to the Starfactory, SpaceX plans to build a Gigabay, a massive structure measuring 130 meters by 110 meters and 115 meters tall. By comparison, the Mega Bays at Starbase are 38 meters by 54 meters and 99 meters tall. This increase in size will allow SpaceX to fit approximately 28 workstations inside, compared to the five stations in the Mega Bays. The additional height will also accommodate the stretched Boosters and Ships being developed by SpaceX, which require more room.
Roberts Road (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)
This expansion increases production capacity significantly, providing ample space for the maintenance and storage of Starship vehicles. Construction of the Gigabay is scheduled to be completed by August 2026, although this timeline encompasses just the structure itself. Full equipping with tooling and workstations will take years.
LC-39A OLM at Roberts Road (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)
Roberts Road is also set to house the production of Starship launch towers. Parts from Starbase’s Pad B tower have been returned there, aiding in the construction of three towers to date. Future plans may see a tower built for SLC-37, pending an Environmental Impact Statement.
LC-39A Starship Pad
Starship’s first launch pad at Cape Canaveral is LC-39A, featuring a completed launch tower since September 2022. After years of inactivity, the pad is now under active development following SpaceX’s summer 2024 submission of a new Environmental Impact Statement.
Since January 2025, crews have begun drilling pilings that will form the flame trench and pile cap. This project shares a similar design to the one currently under construction at Starbase’s Pad B.
LC-39A with Starship Pad Progress (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)
SpaceX has dismantled the large vertical liquid oxygen tank near the launch tower, which will be replaced by horizontal tanks likely placed next to the LOX sphere from the Apollo Program, currently used for Falcon 9 launches. This change means the water deluge system will move behind the tower, mirroring the setup at Starbase’s Pad B.
