SpaceX is ramping up its Starship operations in Florida with major developments underway at its Roberts Road facility, situated within NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The company, led by Elon Musk, is building a massive Starship production complex, including a Gigabay structure similar to the one rising at Starbase in Texas.

The parallel construction of Gigabays in both Florida and Texas underscores SpaceX’s push to scale up Starship production capabilities. Aerial footage captured by the NasaSpaceFlight.com team during a recent flyover revealed substantial progress at the Florida site.

Recent permit filings submitted to Brevard County, Florida, offer a detailed look at the layout of the Starship production area and the adjacent Gigabay. The upcoming Starship facility in Florida is expected to mirror the Starfactory in Boca Chica, Texas—but with an even larger footprint.

The Roberts Road complex, once completed, will cover about 50% more ground than the current Starfactory in Texas. Moreover, there's ample space surrounding the initial construction zone, indicating room for future expansion as SpaceX’s ambitions grow.

Massive Groundwork Underway

Aerial images show the scope of the ongoing groundwork, including the early construction of the Starship Gigabay and enhancements to the existing operations center.

"SpaceX Starship operations center and Gigabay groundwork progress at Roberts Road, Brevard County, Florida, around mid of April 2025."
Credit: NasaSpaceFlight.com / YouTube.

Additionally, planning maps provide a clearer picture of what’s to come. The future Starship factory has been marked in red on diagrams filed with Brevard County, positioned beside the Gigabay and operations center.

"Map of the Starship Florida production and launch site. The future Starship factory marked in red beside the Gigabay and the operations center."
Credit: Kimley Horn / Brevard County, Florida.

Eyes on 2026 Completion — But Launches Start Sooner

SpaceX is targeting the end of 2026 to complete both Gigabay structures in Florida and Texas. Once operational, these megastructures will streamline development and maintenance work on the Super Heavy boosters and Starship spacecraft.

But the company won’t be waiting that long to initiate launches from Florida. SpaceX intends to begin operations sooner by transporting upper and lower stage components of Starship from Starbase in Texas to Florida’s Launch Complex 39-A. These parts will be shipped via sea using barges.

The company highlighted the immense scale of its infrastructure buildout in its February Starship update:

"The scale of the Gigabay can be understood by the following SpaceX statement shared by the company in its February update on Starship."

As construction continues at a rapid pace, SpaceX’s dual-site approach in Florida and Texas reflects a bold vision for making Starship launch-ready—and eventually, Mars-ready—sooner than many anticipated.

Originally reported by Iqtidar Ali in Tesla Oracle.