Possible Roberts Road Expansion as SpaceX pushes for Flight 16

Date:
Sun, 25 Oct 2026 18:21:44 +0000

Description:
As SpaceX prepares to fly Flight 15 in November, with a successful Static
Fire test The post Possible Roberts Road Expansion as SpaceX pushes for
Flight 16 appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

As SpaceX prepares to fly Flight 15 in November, with a successful Static Fire test occurring at Starbase on Sunday, the company is pushing to launch Flight 16 from LC-39A as soon as possible and expand operations at Kennedy Space Center.

To do that, the Gigabay and pad must be ready to host Booster 23 and Ship 43, both of which have completed cryo-proof testing.



Roberts Road

Roberts Road has been a staple for SpaceX operations at Kennedy Space Center since 2021, with the first phase of Hangar X. This is where SpaceX started to store and refurbish Falcon 9 boosters after flight when the pad hangars
became overcrowded. Over time, SpaceX expanded this hangar to house more Falcon 9s and refurbish fairings.

After a few years, SpaceX got another extension to its footprint at Roberts Road to the west to make a Starfactory for Starship with two Mega Bays.
SpaceX axed plans to build those for Starship as it focused on Starbase, TX.

SpaceX built Hangar X-2, but never built the Mega Bays at Roberts Road. In fact, the steel for the first Mega Bay became Mega Bay 2 at Starbase. Roberts Road in February 2022

Hangar X-2 then turned into Dragon processing, Starlink payload processing, and eventually a bakery for Starship tiles attached to the back. During this time, SpaceX used the remaining open ground to build tower sections for LC-39A, Pad 2 at Starbase, and SLC-37A. As well as other launch pad components.

Then, in Jan 2025, SpaceX got another extension to the north of Hangar X for Starship operations; this would include a Starfactory and a Gigabay to kick-start Starship operations at Kennedy Space Center. Since then, SpaceX
has built the first Gigabay and installed at least one transfer-aisle bridge crane.

Given how expansive the Starship program is set to be, one Gigabay isnt enough, and SpaceX hasnt started a Starfactory in Florida yet.

With that in mind, the company will need much more room to build more Gigabays, a ship static-fire test stand, a Payload Processing Facility (PPF), and other buildings to support the Starship program.

To that end, SpaceX, in conjunction with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), has applied to expand its Roberts Road campus from 167 acres to nearly 400 acres.

With this expansion, SpaceX would build the Project Ignition ship
static-fire stands, a new road connecting Roberts Road to NASA Parkway just south of it, and a PPF. SpaceX would also likely build several more Gigabays, depending on how many ships and boosters they plan to build.

This is currently a Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) and
will go through a public comment period, then final approvals. PEA Roberts Road Layout (Credit: NASA)

Once approved and the water permits are submitted and signed off, SpaceX
will likely start several large construction projects at Roberts Road to expand its capabilities. For now, SpaceX is preparing Gigabay to host Booster 23 and Ship 43 once both are ready to ship from Starbase.

LC-39A and Flight 16

Not much has changed at LC-39A over the past few months; SpaceX has spent time adding two more Liquid Methane (LCH4) storage tanks, completing that
side of the tank farm.

Once those tanks are hooked in, SpaceX will have nearly 5,000 metric tons of LCH4 at LC-39A for launches, about 3.8 stacks worth. SpaceX has also added more Liquid Nitrogen capacity to the deluge farm.

On Oct 12, SpaceX installed a new reinforced roof on LC-39As tower to
protect the top of the tower during ship catches. With this roof in place,
all four towers SpaceX currently has stacked now have reinforced roofs.

With the final bits still being installed, SpaceX has begun activation testing of all pad systems, with the tower vent first activated on Sept. 12, which helped them fully purge and test the ship-side systems.

Currently, LC-39A has the old tri-vent Pad 2 once had; it is unclear whether SpaceX will install the same reclaim system on LC-39As tower. On Sept. 24,
the top-deck deluge on LC-39A was also tested for the first time.

Once the deluge system timings and pressures are finalized, LC-39A should be ready to receive vehicles for testing. To that end, Ship 43 recently
completed cryo-proof testing on Oct 23 and will soon roll back to Mega Bay 2 for engine install and final assembly.

Ship 43 must be fully finished, including static fire testing, before it can be sent to Roberts Road. This is because SpaceX has no ship-testing
capability at Kennedy Space Center, so when its sent on the barge, Ship 43 will likely be missing only its payload and its Flight Termination System charges. Ship 43 Undergoing Cryo-Proof Testing

Based on timelines from Ship 40, 41, and so far 42, Ship 43 will be ready
for static fire in mid-December and possibly ready for transport to Kennedy Space Center in early to mid-January.

Booster 23 completed cryo-proof testing on Oct. 15 and is slated to be ready for static fire testing in late November. Unlike ships, SpaceX can test Booster 23 on LC-39A, which will also help activate the pad systems.

LC-39A could host a booster static fire in mid-December; then Booster 23 could have to wait a few weeks for Ship 43 before doing full-stack wet dress rehearsal tests to fully activate the launch pad. Assuming no issues, the first Starship flight out of LC-39A could be in late January, but as always, SpaceX can shorten turnaround times between tests and fly earlier.

SLC-37

The other launch complex SpaceX is building for Starship is coming along nicely, with two tanks already in place for both Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and
LCH4. These appear to be the same 1,700-cubic-meter models installed at LC-39A, each of which can hold around 2,000 metric tons of LOX or 700 metric tons of LCH4.



Overall, SpaceX continues building SLC-37A and has only built the
foundations for SLC-37B; so far, no work has started on 37Bs tower. And because SpaceX uses tents, it is hard to get a good look at 37As launch mount progress at Roberts Road. It will likely take another year or more to get 37A operational, and the timeline for 37 B is unknown.

Featured Image: Gigabay, the VAB, and LC-39B (Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF
with 100s of hi-res photos from the latest Flyover of both Cape/KSC and Starbase (conducted Friday) available to all L2 members, the latest set from 100s of previous flyover collections going back over several years).



The post Possible Roberts Road Expansion as SpaceX pushes for Flight 16 appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/10/roberts-road-expansion-flight-16/


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