Latest news with #Gigabay
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Elon Musk to build enormous Texas ‘gigabay' to store 1,000 Starships
SpaceX will build the 'biggest structure in the world' to house up to 1,000 of its 400ft-tall Starship rockets per year, Elon Musk has claimed. The Tesla billionaire and world's richest man laid out his vision for 'making life multiplanetary' in an update at SpaceX's Starbase in Texas. Speaking to staff last night, Mr Musk said the company planned to build a 'gigabay', which he said would be 'a truly enormous structure'. He said the building, designed for 1,000 Starships per year, would be 'by some measures the biggest structure in the world'. The first so-called gigabay would be built in Texas, with a further facility in Florida as SpaceX seeks to launch multiple rockets per day in order to reach and colonise Mars. Mr Musk has said humans must colonise the Red Planet to avoid potential extinction risks, such as nuclear war or an asteroid strike, and that the colony would need to become self-sustaining. He said: 'Having two strong, self-sustaining planets will be critical for the long-term survival of civilisation.' The billionaire further claimed the company's Super Heavy booster rockets would one day be able to fly missions 'every hour, maybe every two hours give a bit of extra time'. The Super Heavy boosters are the first stage of the Starship rocket. They are designed to be reusable, falling back to Earth after launching. He added SpaceX would ultimately need to launch 1,000 to 2,000 rockets to Mars in every two-year window to carry the cargo needed to set up a colony. Mr Musk is known for his bold claims and ambitious timelines, including his vision of sending humans to Mars by 2029. He said its first mission could include landing an Optimus robot on Mars. On Tuesday night, Mr Musk's company undertook a ninth test flight of Starship, the world's most powerful rocket. The test saw the first re-use of its Super Heavy booster, recycling a rocket body that had previously returned to Earth and been caught by a pair of 'chopsticks' on its landing tower. However, the Starship second stage went into a spin as it returned to Earth, breaking up over the Indian Ocean. Mr Musk has promised to launch another Starship test mission within a few weeks. Nasa is planning to use SpaceX's megarocket for a manned mission to the Moon as soon as 2027, returning humans to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. On Thursday, Mr Musk revealed new designs for SpaceX's Starship, which he said would be 'taller' and have a redesigned separation mechanism. He said future generations of its Starship would be 465ft tall and have twice the payload capacity of the Saturn V rocket that conducted the original Moon missions. The billionaire added that his ambition was that 'anyone who wants to move to Mars can do so', which he said would be the 'best adventure that anyone could possibly do'. He added there was a '50/50' chance SpaceX would launch an uncrewed Starship mission at the end of 2026, when Mars is at the closest point in its orbit to Earth.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SpaceX works to expand rocket launching facilities along Florida's Space Coast
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – SpaceX, the company behind the Starship rocket, is planning a $1.8 billion investment along Florida's Space Coast, aimed at upgrading NASA's Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to support future launches of the mega rocket. SpaceX recently announced plans to construct a 380-foot-tall, state-of-the-art facility, known as a Gigabay, which will support the rapid assembly and refurbishment of reusable rockets. The company has been launching spacecraft from Florida's east coast for nearly two decades but has yet to attempt a Starship rocket launch from the Sunshine State. Starship missions have been exclusively conducted in Texas, but the company believes that once the spacecraft becomes reliable, it will become the new workhorse of the space industry. "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," the company said in a statement. "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." Included in the investment are a new launch pad at Launch Complex 39A and a site at Space Launch Complex 37 at the nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Future Of Nasa's Mega Moon Rocket Appears In Doubt Following Major Boeing Announcement The private space company has not yet received federal approval for the Florida site, and environmental impact reviews are still ongoing by multiple agencies. Several Starship tests in the Lone Star State have led to debris, raising concerns that rocket launches may be harmful to the immediate surrounding ecosystem. The State of Florida said it anticipates 600 full-time jobs to be based on the Space Coast by 2030, when the Starship program is expected to be well underway. "Florida continues to set the pace for space innovation, breaking records with 93 launches in 2024—up from 74 in 2023—and the state is on track to continue this record-breaking momentum into the future as a national leader in space manufacturing, launches, and business development," Jared Perdue, the secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation, said in a statement. Watch: Spacex Starship Test Flight Disintegrates After Launch, Debris Spotted In Skies Over Caribbean It is unclear if the SpaceX facility in Florida will be up and running by the time NASA plans to use the rocket to launch a crew to the Moon during the Artemis III mission. The lunar landing could come as soon as mid-2027 but has been pushed back several years due to delays and cost overruns encountered with NASA's Space Launch System. Elon Musk has previously said he envisions uncrewed launches to Mars beginning in two years with the ultimate goal of developing a crewed self-sustaining article source: SpaceX works to expand rocket launching facilities along Florida's Space Coast
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SpaceX confirms: Gigabay coming, and Starship launch from Florida by end of year
It's been known that Starship would eventually launch from Florida, but now SpaceX is saying it may happen as early as the end of this year — as SpaceX ambitiously confirmed they are pushing to launch from Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39A by the end of 2025. This news was publicly announced during the webcast of the March 3 Starship launch attempt from the Boca Chica, Texas, Starbase. Christopher Gebhardt from SpaceX communications spoke about the upcoming Starship plans during the Monday evening broadcast. 'We plan to complete the Starship launch pad at Pad 39A later this year, and pending the completion of the environmental reviews, SpaceX intends to conduct the first Starship launch from Florida Pad 39A later this year,' said Gebhardt. The project includes at least $1.8 billion of SpaceX capital investment and will bring an estimated 600 new full-time jobs in the Space Coast by 2030, the governor's office said. "With 600 new full-time jobs and the historic addition of Starship launches from Florida, this expansion strengthens our economy, grows our aerospace workforce, and solidifies our leadership in the next generation of space exploration," said U.S. Rep. Mike Haridopolos. "This investment is a testament to SpaceX's confidence in Florida's central role in spaceflight, and we are proud to support the groundbreaking missions that will lift off from our shores.' While SpaceX acknowledges the Space Force and Federal Aviation Administration environmental reviews are not set to be released until later this year, construction of the giant Gigabay at KSC, which will be used to stack and finalize the 232-foot-tall Super Heavy boosters (lower-stages) before flight, could begin as soon as next month. Also, the Starship tower standing on Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A will be finalized. The proposed SpaceX Gigabay will be an addition to SpaceX's current Robert's Road facilities on Kennedy Space Center. SpaceX has always said it plans to launch its massive rocket from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A — and after development of a tower on the site, also from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 37. SpaceX's Starship towers over 400-feet-tall — larger than any rocket ever in existence. It's 33 engines give off 16 million pounds of thrust upon liftoff. For reference, the Saturn V moon rocket was only 363 feet tall and gave off 7.6 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. Starship is not only planned to be SpaceX's next workhorse rocket, the upper-stage is also being tapped by NASA to act as a human lander for the Artemis III mission, aimed at returning humans to the lunar surface no earlier than 2027. Should the plan remain the same with the new administration, Starship will dock to the Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit, taking astronauts down to the surface. SpaceX has also repeatedly stated hopes of launching an uncrewed Starship to Mars by late 2026, when the planet will be close to Earth. This has been stated to be a goal not only of CEO Elon Musk, but of the Trump administration, as during President Trump's inauguration speech he spoke of putting the stars and strips on Mars. Should an uncrewed Starship to Mars in 2026 happen, a crewed mission could follow in 2028. This timeline all depends on how soon Starship can be running smoothly, as while the previous flight saw a successful booster catch, the ship was lost less than 10 minutes into flight. It broke up over the Turks and Caicos Islands. It remains to be seen how Starship improves on the upcoming Flight 8, which was scrubbed Monday due to a booster issues. In this ambitious announcement, Gebhardt spoke of Florida's Gigabay after speaking about another Gigabay coming to Texas. "But Gigabay isn't just for Texas. If that weren't exciting enough, we're also further expanding Starship operations into Florida, bringing production and launch capabilities to the Space Coast as Starship flight testing, development, and launch cadence continues to pick up pace at Starbase in Texas," said Gebhardt. As for the Gigabay in Florida, construction could begin as soon as April. The 380-foot-tall structure would fall short of NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building, which stands at 525-feet-tall. But at that height, it would still make the Gigabay a recognizable feature looming in the distance on approach to Cape Canaveral. This would give the general public a glimpse of SpaceX's new generation launch system. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis welcomed SpaceX's announcement Monday night. 'Florida is the present and future of the space industry with leading space companies—like SpaceX—investing in the Free State of Florida. We welcome SpaceX's Starship to our state," said Governor Ron DeSantis, who has also lobbied for NASA to move its headquarters to the Space Coast. Like the SpaceX Megabay in Texas, the Gigabay would be used to stack and finalize the 232-foot-tall Super Heavy boosters (lower-stages) before flight. Once fully stacked on the launch pad, Starship stands more than 400-feet-tall. When is the next Florida rocket launch? Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA rocket launch schedule at Cape Canaveral So far, Starship has not reached an orbital flight from Texas, or successfully returned the ship (upper-stage) to the launch pad. As of January, SpaceX has caught the first-stage booster twice with the launch tower's "chopsticks". Full return and reusability is planned for future flights. The results of the upcoming Flight 8 remain to be seen in the coming days, and a return of the Starship to the launch pad could come as soon as Flight 9. SpaceX has not publicly announced when crewed flights are estimated to begin, or an exact date of when Starship will launch from the Space Coast. Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@ or on X: @brookeofstars This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX: Starship to launch from Florida by end of the year
