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SpaceX\u2019s push toward Starship launches has been entirely focused on its South Texas facility.<\/p>\n
The expansion of Starbase has been stunning, with SpaceX setting up a Production Facility and a multi-vehicle launch site a few miles down the road.<\/p>\n
Further expansion of both sites is either ongoing or in planning as the Texas site ramps up towards its first orbital launch attempt early next year, followed by numerous launches throughout 2022.<\/p>\n
While Starbase will be the primary base of operations for Starship, the Cape was always in mind. The very first overview of the vehicle, several name changes ago, portrayed Starship (as the Interplanetary Transport System \u2013 ITS) launching from a clean pad 39A.<\/p>\n
Signs of the Floridian Starship push began with a mini-Production Facility in Cocoa, where the Mk2 vehicle was constructed in parallel with Mk1 at Starbase.<\/p>\n
Space Shuttle
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Then, early signs of pad construction were observed at 39A, finally providing clues as to where SpaceX wanted to position the facility inside the complex.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/NSF-2019-10-04-15-54-48-749.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSentinel-2 satellite images between September and October 2019 show the rapid progress at 39A.<\/p>\n
Contractors then started to work on infrastructure, which included a ramp that was likely to make up the launch mount.<\/p>\n
Notably, this work was ongoing while Starbase was focused mostly on the suborbital site for its hop tests instead of the Orbital launch site.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/NSF-2021-12-05-01-25-55-076-watermarked.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Starship pad hardware at 39A in late 2019 \u2013 via NSF<\/p>\n
However, work paused early into 2020. At the time, it was well understood that Starship\u2019s work was primarily focused at Starbase, and then potential impacts related to SpaceX\u2019s busy Falcon schedule at 39A, along with the impacts of the Covid pandemic, further delayed the work in Florida.<\/p>\n
Work remained mothballed, and questions related to satellite photos of 39A that highlighted the outline of the Starship pad at 39A continued to go unanswered, even after SpaceX won the Human Landing System (HLS) contract that all-but-confirmed NASA launches of Starship from KSC.<\/p>\n
Then, somewhat out of the blue, Elon Musk tweeted the news many wanted to hear: \u201cconstruction of Starship orbital launch pad at the Cape has begun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Given there are several options outside of 39A where a new pad could be built, clarification of Starship\u2019s Florida launch site location at 39A was soon forthcoming.<\/p>\n