SpaceX to launch Starship from Florida
December 7, 2021
By Chris Forrester
Up until now all of Elon Musk’s efforts related to SpaceX’s huge Starship rocket have been focussed on its headquarters base in South Texas at the Gulf coastal Boca Chica village, near Brownsville. But Musk’s team have now started pouring concrete at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre part of the Cape Canaveral complex, Florida.
“Construction of Starship orbital launch pad at the Cape has begun,” Musk said via Twitter. “39A is hallowed spaceflight ground — no place more deserving of a Starship launch pad! Will have similar, but improved, ground systems & tower to Starbase.”
Musk is sticking to his plan to launch the rocket’s first part-orbital test flight soon, perhaps this coming January or February provided he gets Federal Aviation Authority permission to launch.
Musk has a 20-year lease on Pad 39A from NASA and SpaceX frequently launches its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets from the complex, but the Starship rocket needs new infrastructure.