SpaceX is now progressing with the plan to build Starship’s first Florida launch pad and launch tower altogether. Earlier in 2019, SpaceX started work on a Starship launchpad situated at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) LC-39A pad, which the firm leased for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches. However, work on the pad of which most elements were already visible, effectively halted in 2020 and entered a state of limbo as SpaceX moved all of its Starship program on South Texas.
Later on December 3rd, 2021, the company’s CEO, Elon Musk revealed resumption of the project within a matter of weeks, the remains of the old Starship launch pad – already outdated – being scrapped and removed, with the site returning to a more or less blank slate. Afterward, the views from SpaceX webcasts of Falcon 9 launches out of Pad 39A have revealed that SpaceX is much aimed at preparing foundations. However, in early February 2022, a flyover of a contrasting SpaceX KSC facility released the first clear signs of preparation for pad hardware assembly.
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Starship’s first Florida launch pad and launch tower project.
Small sets of square foundations were recently made at SpaceX’s new Roberts Road Falcon storage, refurbishment, and processing center. Each completed part measured around 12m (40 ft) long and wide with a height of 18m (60 ft). They were then transferred by road about seven miles to the launch site, where a crane would stack them. In other terms, the Pad 39A’s Starship launch tower will be built at the Roberts Road facility and later the sections will be transported to the pad for assembly. Generally, to prevent the Falcon launches regular disruption, SpaceX will do the same with virtually all transportable pad hardware, with the launch mount and tower arms included.
Only about a third of the land leased at Roberts Road is developed. SpaceX intends to construct two immense warehouse-like structures to fill out the rest of the site. Based on their track, they would altogether have more covered floor area than the entirety of the South Texas ‘Starbase’ site where all Starships are currently constructed. During an update presentation on February 10th, 2022, Elon Musk revealed that SpaceX will construct and launch Starships out of Florida, all but guaranteeing that the new site will be a massive modern Starship factory. Satellite imagery in mid-February revealed that SpaceX has started to level the unfinished parts of Roberts Road, probably paving the way for the beginning of foundation work in the near future.
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