KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — SpaceX is preparing for a Starship-Super Heavy launch from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center later this year.

The company first built the Orbital Launch and Integration Tower (OLIT) at LC-39A in 2022. Now, crews are upgrading the tower based on lessons learned from Starbase, Texas. These upgrades include a new pad deflector system, along with water-sound suppression and cooling systems to better support launches and booster recoveries.

Expansion at Roberts Road

At the same time, SpaceX announced it is expanding its Roberts Road facilities with a 100-acre project, which includes two major new buildings:

Gigabay: A 380-foot-tall facility with 46.5 million cubic feet of interior space and 815,000 square feet of workspace. It will include ground-level and elevated platforms, plus a work and meeting space on the top floor.

Gigabay will support Starship and Super Heavy vehicles up to 266 feet tall, featuring 24 work cells for assembly and refurbishment. The facility will also house cranes capable of lifting 400 US tons.

Starship Starfactory: The primary site for manufacturing, integration, and refurbishment of Starship vehicles.

Both facilities are expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Infrastructure upgrades for transport

To support these expansions, roadwork is underway along Saturn Causeway, the 3.9-mile stretch between the Launch Control Center and LC-39A. The road will be widened by nearly 8 feet (from 26 feet to 34 feet) to improve access for support vehicles and make it easier to transport Starship and Super Heavy boosters.

Building a Starship fleet in Florida

Before Florida-based launches begin, SpaceX will transport Super Heavy boosters and Starship upper stages from Starbase, Texas, to Florida via barge to establish an initial Starship fleet.

With production, integration, refurbishment, and launch facilities in both Florida and Texas, SpaceX aims to increase its launch rate by improving Starship’s reusability.

Future Expansion at Space Launch Complex 37

SpaceX is also awaiting an environmental impact study as it seeks to acquire Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), the California -based company stated.

SLC-37 was originally built in the late 1950s and early 1960s and used by NASA from 1964 to 1968 to test Saturn I and Saturn IB rockets as part of the Apollo program. More recently, it was the launch site for Delta IV rockets from 2002 to 2024.

With these developments, SpaceX is taking major steps toward establishing a high-frequency Starship launch program on Florida’s Space Coast.

As SpaceX continues to develop Starship, each new iteration brings it closer to becoming a fully reusable transportation system capable of carrying cargo and crew to destinations on Earth, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.