Florida, I adore you. The Space Coast is where Apollo left for the Moon, where the shuttles roared, and where SpaceX turned rocket launches into something we watch nearly every week. This post kicks off my deep-dive series on SpaceX’s launch sites, starting with Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS): what’s there today and what’s being built for Starship.
Here’s my confession: Florida is home. I love driving out to watch launches from the Roy D. Bridges Bridge at Kennedy Space Center, and on a lot of launch days I don’t even have to leave the house, because I can see, hear and feel them right from my front yard. That rumble in your chest never gets old. And I am bursting with excitement for Starship’s first launch from Florida. I’m all up in this stuff. Honestly, this is my life.
Two Neighbors, Lots of Rockets
KSC is NASA’s spaceport. CCSFS, right next door, is run by the U.S. Space Force. SpaceX operates from both, and the area has been busier than ever: the Space Coast hosted a record 109 launches in 2025.
2026 looks different. On August 25, 2026, a Falcon 9 lifted off from SLC-40 carrying 29 Starlink satellites on what SpaceX called the last planned Falcon 9 Starlink launch from Florida. Fittingly, its booster, B1067, was flying a record 37th mission, and it landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas. According to Florida Today, that was the Cape’s 54th orbital launch of the year, and 33 of those 54 were Starlink missions. That gives you a sense of how much of the Space Coast’s drumbeat came from Starlink.
SpaceX Vice President of Launch Kiko Dontchev put it simply: from now on, Starlink missions out of Florida will fly on Starship, and the West Coast team will keep launching Starlink on Falcon 9 from Vandenberg. Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy aren’t leaving Florida, though. Crew and cargo flights to the space station, national security missions, commercial satellites, and science missions all still launch here. A few days after that last Starlink flight, a Falcon Heavy was scheduled to launch NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from pad 39A.
And yes, we Floridians are a little jealous that Vandenberg took our Starlink launches. We went from a couple of launches a week to a current drought of one every few weeks. My front yard misses the show!
LC-39A: History’s Launch Pad
Launch Complex 39A is hallowed ground. Apollo 11 left for the Moon from here, and so did many space shuttle missions. SpaceX leased the pad from NASA in 2014. It has been home to Falcon Heavy launches, and on May 30, 2020, it launched Crew Dragon Demo-2, the first crewed orbital launch from U.S. soil since the shuttle retired.
Now 39A is getting a second job. Work on Starship hardware at the pad started in late 2021, and it picked up again in earnest in 2025. Next to the Falcon facilities, SpaceX has built a Starship launch tower with “chopsticks” catch arms and a launch mount. On October 1, 2026, at the briefing for the Crew-13 launch, SpaceX’s Julianna Scheiman said “things are going super well at 39A.” She explained that the main construction is essentially done and the pad is moving into acceptance and activation testing. NASASpaceflight reports that SpaceX added more liquid methane storage tanks, giving the pad nearly 5,000 metric tons of methane, and installed a reinforced roof on the tower to protect it during ship catches.
Why so much new plumbing? Starship’s Raptor engines burn liquid methane and liquid oxygen, while Falcon’s Merlins burn kerosene and liquid oxygen. So 39A needs a whole new tank farm. And because Starship’s booster and ship are designed to fly back and be caught by the tower’s arms, the tower itself is a critical piece of recovery equipment, not just a launch stand. NASASpaceflight reports that Booster 23 and Ship 43, which have finished cryogenic proof testing in Texas, are tagged for Florida. NSF says a booster static fire at 39A could come around mid-December 2026, and the first Florida Starship launch could be as early as late January 2027. Another NSF report says Flight 16 is aimed at December and could be the first East Coast Starship launch, so the exact date depends on how Flight 15 goes. Remember, those are reported targets, not promises. Starship schedules love to slide!
SLC-40: The Workhorse
Over at CCSFS, Space Launch Complex 40 is SpaceX’s busiest Florida Falcon 9 pad. It’s a former Titan pad that SpaceX has used since its first Falcon 9 launches. SpaceX rebuilt it after the Amos-6 pad explosion in 2016, and it later added a crew access tower. In September 2024, Crew-9 became the first crewed mission to launch from SLC-40. Having two crew-capable pads means Dragon flights don’t have to wait for 39A.
SLC-37: Starship’s Second Florida Home
Space Launch Complex 37 was the longtime home of the Delta IV. Now it’s being transformed into two Starship pads, 37A and 37B. The Department of the Air Force has approved Starship operations there of up to 76 launches a year.
Progress check, per NASASpaceflight: the 37A tower is stacked, but the launch mount, plumbing, and flame trench work are still underway. NSF expects 37A to be about a year or more away. 37B is still at the foundation stage. Once 37A is ready, the plan is for it to become a main Florida Starship pad, with 39A also staying in the mix.
The Florida Gigabay and Roberts Road
You know I can’t resist a Gigabay update! At SpaceX’s Roberts Road campus near KSC, the Florida Gigabay, a huge vertical integration building for stacking Starships and Super Heavy boosters, is essentially complete, according to NSF. A Florida Starfactory (the production building) hasn’t been started yet, so Florida will rely on hardware shipped from Starbase, Texas, at least at first. SpaceX is also planning ship static-fire test stands nearby.
If you want to see where Florida’s Starship future is being born, I wrote about my trip to Starbase for Starship Flight 9. Starbase is a great place to visit, and you can get up close and personal with the launch pads. Everyone should go if they get the chance.
What’s Next for Florida
Here’s what I’m watching:
- The first Starship static fire at LC-39A, possibly in December 2026.
- The first Florida Starship launch, which NSF says could be Flight 16 in early 2027.
- SLC-37A coming online, probably in 2027 or later.
- Gigabay operations at Roberts Road and whether a Florida Starfactory follows.
Picture it: a Starship lifting off from the same pad as Apollo 11. I’ll be watching with my coffee and my launch-day snacks, cheering until that booster lands. (For more on Starship and Mars, check out my Mars in 2026 post.)
Next stop in this series: the West Coast and Vandenberg! 🚀
— The Star Queen
Sources
- SpaceX, Starship: https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/
- NASASpaceflight, “Roberts Road expansion, Flight 16 Florida plans” (Oct 2026): https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/10/roberts-road-expansion-flight-16/
- NASASpaceflight, “Starship Florida: pushing toward launch” (Jul 2026): https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/07/starship-florida-pushing-launch/
- Space.com, “‘Things are going super well at 39A'” (Oct 2026): https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/things-are-going-super-well-at-39a-spacex-gearing-up-to-launch-starship-from-florida-for-1st-time
- Florida Today, “SpaceX’s final Florida Falcon 9 Starlink launch marks shift to Starship” (Aug 25, 2026): https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2026/08/25/spacexs-final-florida-falcon-9-starlink-launch-marks-shift-to-starship-in-brevard-county/91456647007/
- NASASpaceflight, “SpaceX working through Starship Flight 15 and 16 milestones” (Oct 2026): https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/10/spacex-flight-15-16-milestones/
- WESH, SpaceX marks final Florida Falcon 9 Starlink launch (Aug 2026): https://www.wesh.com/article/cape-canaveral-final-falcon-9-starlink-launch/73524203
- Wikipedia, Launch Complex 39A (pad history): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Space_Center_Launch_Complex_39A
- Wikipedia, Space Launch Complex 40 (pad history, crew tower, Crew-9): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Canaveral_Space_Launch_Complex_40
Banner image: A Falcon 9 on Launch Complex 39A (left) and NASA’s SLS at 39B, April 2022. Image: NASA/Jamie Peer, public domain.
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