Elon Musk: Construction of orbital launch pad for Starship begins in Cape Canaveral

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A new launch pad is under construction along the Space Coast.

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Friday that "construction of Starship orbital launch pad at the Cape has begun."

The new launch pad is expected to be located at the historic 39A complex at Kennedy Space Center, the site from which the space shuttles were launched.

"Elon…liking the idea of transparency and letting people know what's going on just said, 'Hey, we're we're turning our attention back the cape," said Dale Ketcham, vice president of Space Florida.

Tom Engler, the director of Kennedy Space Center Planning and Development says it's all happening as the result of a 20-year agreement with SpaceX. 

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., waves while departing court during the SolarCity trial in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., on Tuesday, July 13, 2021. (Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Starship is the massive rocket SpaceX is developing to launch cargo, and one day, to send people on missions to both the moon and Mars.  SpaceX actually started construction in 2019. 

"It's pretty exciting, and any time we can have even more work happening at the Center -- and seeing the work that would be happening as a part of the construction of the pad and then eventually…the launching of Starship from 39A -- it's very exciting," said Engler.

It's a sentiment echoed by Ketchum. 

"We're hopeful that Florida is going to be able to make the case that a lot of those launches need to occur here," he added.

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