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Construction of orbital launch pad for Starship begins in Cape Canaveral
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.
ORLANDO, Fla. - During a presentation to SpaceX employees in early April, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk provided a comprehensive update on the company's strategy for interplanetary colonization with its sights firmly set on Mars.
Of particular focus are immediate objectives for the two-stage, 400-foot-tall reusable launch vehicle known as Starship. SpaceX has conducted three Starship test launches from its Brownsville, Texas "Starbase" location.
Musk said the company intends to construct four additional Starship launch towers, called "Mechazillas," two of which will be built in Texas and two in Florida at Cape Canaveral, pending local, state, and federal approval.
Musk said, "We're aiming to have the first Cape launch tower and launch system operational around the middle of next year."
He explained that the Texas facility will likely serve as a testing ground for developmental launches and rocket construction.
"Probably most of the operational launches will be from the Cape," he told the audience.
SpaceX plans to ramp up the production of new Starship vehicles, approximately six, Musk said, in 2024.
"Ultimately, we'll need to build a lot more ships than boosters, especially for Mars," he added. "You'll actually want to use the ship, take apart the ship, and use it for raw materials on Mars because the ship materials will be so valuable."
According to SpaceX, a fully self-sustaining city on Mars needs around one million people and several million tons of cargo.
"Which we can do, and we can do this in 20 years," Musk said. "In order for it to be self-sustaining, you actually need the entire base of industry. You can't be missing any element."
Musk envisions a near future with as many as 1,000 Starships constructed annually.
NASA is partnering with SpaceX to facilitate the use of the Starship HLS (Human Landing System) during Artemis III and Artemis IV missions, which will see astronauts touch down near the Moon's South Pole.
[Credit: SpaceX]
"It's going to be a specialized ship for the Moon," Musk went on to say. "So the Moon, obviously there's no Mechazilla, so we need landing legs, and you don't need a heat shield, and you don't need flaps because there's no atmosphere."
Musk said the ultimate goal for SpaceX is to construct a colony on the Moon as well.
He continued, "Ultimately, we want to build a moonbase, "Moonbase Alpha, and have a permanently occupied base on the Moon."
[Credit: SpaceX]
During its third test flight, the vehicle achieved several significant objectives critical to developing Starship for lunar landings under Artemis. Notably, the spacecraft reached its intended orbit, and Starship executed the full-duration ascent burn as planned.
"Each flight test pushes the boundaries for Starship, enabling us to gather valuable insights for future missions," remarked Lisa Watson-Morgan, HLS Program Manager at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, following the March 14 launch.
NASA said one of the critical aspects evaluated during the flight was the transfer of cryogenic propellant between internal tanks, a technology essential for future space missions.
SpaceX still needs many more test flights before the vehicle flies people. Eventually, Starship and Super Heavy will launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Musk said the spaceship is designed to be "caught" by the launch tower arms, making a controlled landing at the same location where it launched.
One of the largest launch pads at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37), is being vacated by United Launch Alliance following the final launch of the Delta IV rocket. SpaceX is proposing a Starship Mechazilla at this location, which is undergoing environmental review and has been the subject of public meetings where residents have been invited to offer input. You can read more and submit comments here.
Private citizens also have signed up for flights on Starship, including businessman Jared Isaacman's Polaris Program. Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa plans to bring eight individuals with him on a Starship flight around the Moon.