SpaceX will move some activities related to its upcoming Starship vehicle away from the Space Coast as it pushes forward with the next phase of its development, a shift that will result in some impacts to local workers and operations.
The company said it has not stopped all Starship-related activity at its facility on Cidco Road in Cocoa, but has paused some local work as it focuses on a new version known as “Mark III” in Boca Chica, Texas.
SpaceX teams there and locally in Cocoa were building “competing” versions of the spacecraft and sharing lessons learned.
There have been no layoffs and local employees impacted by the shift can either opt to work on the Mark III build in Texas or stay in Florida to support other activities
Starship and its planned booster, Super Heavy, have seen various iterations since their wide-scale introduction under a different name in 2016. Since then, SpaceX has built a stainless steel version of Starship at its privately owned facility in Texas and has launched it on sub-orbital “hops.”
Ultimately, Starship and Super Heavy are slated to launch from Boca Chica and Kennedy Space Center on deep-space trips to the moon and beyond.
The movement to Texas also fits in with SpaceX’s wider plan to build a facility in an empty area in the southern portion of KSC, which is well underway. Continuing to develop Starship in Texas will give SpaceX an opportunity to later shift some operations back to the Space Coast, but next time at KSC instead of Cocoa.
The new plan will cut down on having to transport hardware from Cocoa to the spaceport, which would have been a complicated late-night endeavor involving road closures and water-based transportation.
The company’s Falcon 9 rocket, meanwhile, is scheduled to kick off a busy month starting on Wednesday. Topped with an uncrewed Dragon spacecraft, Falcon 9 will launch from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 40 at 12:51 p.m. with supplies destined for the International Space Station
Be the first to comment