Launch Site and Facility Progress ahead of East Coast Starship debut

Date:
Tue, 01 Sep 2026 18:15:54 +0000

Description:
As SpaceX prepares to launch Starship Flight 14 in the coming weeks, work in Florida The post Launch Site and Facility Progress ahead of East Coast Starship debut appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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As SpaceX prepares to launch Starship Flight 14 in the coming weeks, work in Florida is expanding the Starship program so the company can fly from LC-39A and, eventually, SLC-37.

The historic pad that once launched Saturn and Shuttle missions, and now supports Falcon, is expected to become SpaceXs second active Starship launch site. Pad 1 at Starbase is not expected to return to service until later next year.



Roberts Road

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After about 18 months, the Gigabays exterior at Roberts Road is nearly complete. Only parts of the roof and the larger glass panels on the east side remain unfinished.

The long haul now is installing the interior systems. Those include electrical, pneumatic, plumbing, and HVAC, as well as the transfer-aisle bridge cranes, one of which is already installed, as far as is known.

Gigabay work stands are also under construction. A few ship and booster
stands have been built so far, with embeds staged nearby for installation inside the work cells.

Two booster stands are currently being built at Roberts Road. SpaceX will
need at least one booster stand and one ship stand operational when Starbase, Texas, sends vehicles over.

Lastly, both large transfer-aisle doors are sitting off to the side, waiting to be installed on the Gigabay.

SLC-37As launch mount at Roberts Road is coming along as well. The major pieces of the first and second levels are in position and being welded together. The four sections of the top deck plate are nearby, and one already has the service-structure-side water manifold installed. A few more months of work remain before the mount is ready for rollout, but it is progressing
well.

A pending permit was recently announced for Project Ignition: a pair of ship static-fire trenches at the Roberts Road campus.

The facility is slated for a site northwest of the current Roberts Road buildings, just off Schwartz Road. Based on the permit, it would be used only for ship cryo and static-fire testing, which means any booster cryo testing would likely take place at LC-39A.

LC-39A

At LC-39A, crews are preparing to install the new hardened roof required for ship catches. The LR-11000 cranes main boom has been extended, and the crane is raised and standing by for the lift. Alongside that work, the final cladding pieces are being installed on the pad-facing side of the tower.

The remaining tower work includes weight testing of the ship quick disconnect, fast-retract tests, and eventually a full purge and tank-farm
test on the ship side. Ship liquid oxygen pumps are still missing, and they are likely required before crews can fully test the ship side of the tank farm, and before launch.

The chopsticks are nearly fully tested. Weight testing was completed a few weeks ago, along with some higher-speed runs. More high-speed testing is likely required before SpaceX attempts a catch on this tower.

As for the deluge, SpaceX has already tested the trench system several times to dial in the newer setup at LC-39A. The top-deck deluge has not been tested yet, but that could come soon as crews finish work on the launch mount.

Overall, LC-39As Starship pad is close to being ready for a launch. A few additions and other remaining items still need to be finished.

SLC-37

Construction at SLC-37 is also moving quickly. The 37A launch tower is fully stacked and already has the newer roof installed.

Crews now have to connect the internal plumbing, fill the columns with concrete, and attach the remaining tower hardware. That hardware includes the ship quick disconnect, carriage, and chopsticks, which are nearby and being fitted out.

The service structures main steel is in place and now needs to be outfitted with the electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and cryogenic systems the launch mount requires.

In the trench, SpaceX appears to have already poured the center floor; the ramps are next. Once those are poured, the flame-trench walls, already being preassembled nearby, will be installed.

Another major part of the launch site is the water deluge system, which already has several tanks installed. The deluge farm looks as if it will be shared by 37A and 37B.

The first tank-farm storage tanks have also arrived. They appear to be the same 1,700-cubic-meter LOX tank design currently used at LC-39A. It is not
yet clear how many of those tanks SLC-37 will get.

SLC-37Bs piles appear complete, but no tower sections have been erected yet
as crews focus on SLC-37A. Foundation work is also underway in the air separation unit area southeast of the two pads.

Ship 40 Update

While Starship work continues at Cape Canaveral, Ship 40 has been loaded onto the Forte and has begun its journey home to Starbase, Texas. SpaceX engineers spent several days inspecting Ship 40 in the waters off Christmas Island.
They collected heatshield samples and gained vital insight into how the vehicle handled reentry with improvements now planned on future vehicles pic.twitter.com/8NWXpmhlLi

SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 27, 2026



Before leaving Christmas Island, SpaceX engineers sampled Ship 40s heat
shield to better understand what reentry does to Starship. The ship is slated to arrive in Brownsville by Oct. 8, though weather and other delays could
push that date later.

Featured Image: Roberts Road and the VAB (credit: Max Evans for NSF L2 100s of hi res photos from each of the 100s of flyovers conducted by our team at Cape/KSC, McGregor, Starbase and more, available to download in L2).



The post Launch Site and Facility Progress ahead of East Coast Starship debut appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/09/launch-site-facility-progress-east-coa st-starship/


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