TITUSVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Fresh off its $85.7 billion public offering, SpaceX successfully launched another batch of Starlink satellites from California today, even as it continues building toward Starship operations on Florida\u2019s Space Coast.<\/p>\n
The company is developing major launch infrastructure at both Kennedy Space Center\u2019s Launch Complex 39A and Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station as it prepares for future Starship missions in Florida.<\/p>\n
A key piece of that effort is the massive 380-foot-tall \u201cGigabay\u201d assembly facility now under construction, which will serve as the primary processing hub for Florida-based Starship vehicles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would keep my eyes on that Gigabay assembly facility,\u201d said Dr. Don Platt of Florida Tech. \u201cIf it looks like it\u2019s finishing up, then you know they\u2019re definitely ramping up and really putting the time and effort into getting things going here sooner rather than later.\u201d<\/p>\n
But experts also the Florida timeline still depends on progress in Texas, where Starship test flights continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe with more resources and maybe a faster cadence, we may see that,\u201d Platt said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get these next, I would say, two more test flights from Texas, though, first.\u201d<\/p>\n
SpaceX has previously indicated it hopes to launch Starship from Florida before the end of the year, with COO Gwynne Shotwell telling CNBC that a first flight from the Space Coast could come as soon as this fall, depending on testing progress.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my opinion, you have to have at least one totally successful orbital Starship flight from Texas before they could say that they could bring it to Florida,\u201d Platt added.<\/p>\n
As construction continues, SpaceX\u2019s Florida footprint is expanding in a way that could reshape launch operations across the Space Coast.<\/p>\n
Click here<\/a> to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here<\/a> to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.<\/p>\n