Gigabay Progress Report: June 2026 – The Wall Reaches Almost to the Top

Hello, stargazers! 🚀 Welcome to my Gigabay Progress Report for June. This month I got one drive-by session at the SpaceX Gigabay at Kennedy Space Center, on June 25, with three photos taken within about three minutes. My last report covered May 8 and 20, so these photos come 36 days after my last May photos (May 20). What impressed me most? The black wall now reaches nearly to the top. On the north side only a thin band of open steel is left above it, by eye. And I finally got a look at the south side again, with two huge, tall openings framed in steel. 🖤🏗️

Header photo: June 25 – the north side from the road, the second photo of the morning (8:09 AM). This is the photo at the top of the post. Look for: the black wall, now a huge flat block that reaches nearly to the top, with only a thin band of open white steel above it; one of the two garage-door-style openings at the base, framed in steel, with white steel inside (the second opening is at the right, partly hidden by a red crane); a tall orange crane at the left and two red ones at the right; a line of green shrubs along the base; tan and white trailers and parked vehicles at the right; and a big gray pipe by the roadside ditch. I don’t see door panels in the openings.

A reminder: I take these as I drive by, so my angles change from photo to photo. I’m always grateful for the chances I get. I’ll show you what I can actually see, say “appears” when I’m not sure, and add the proper construction words so we can all learn together. 🌟

How I take these

The road I drive runs north and south, and the Gigabay sits on its west side. That means it’s on my left when I drive north and on my right when I drive south, and I’m always looking west at it. Some shots go through the windshield and some out the side window, so my sets never line up perfectly. I’ll use “left end” and “right end” of the building as I see it in each photo. This month: all three photos are from the morning of June 25, at about 8:08, 8:09 and 8:10 AM by my phone’s clock, under a sky with thin clouds and some blue. One photo shows the north side, the side with the two garage-door-style openings (the header photo), and two show the south side, where the huge bay doors will be and where the ship will enter. My close-up of the south side was taken from a parking lot beside it, through my windshield, so some reflections from inside my car show in the glass.

Where we left off in May

In my May report the big news was that the black wall had grown to about two-thirds of the visible height on the north side. (My April, March, February and January reports show how it got there.) My last north-side photos were from May 20, so that’s the day I’m comparing against:

• Wall. On the north side, a black wall that looked like about two-thirds of the visible height, by eye, with a level top edge.
• Openings. Two garage-door-style openings at the base, with white steel visible inside and no door panels that I could see.
• Steel above. A shorter band of open white steel above the wall, with diagonal braces and gray metal deck, and a flat top.
• Cranes. Several cranes, with yellow ones on top of the frame and a tall red one at the left. (I describe cranes only by color.)
• South end. I didn’t get it in May. My last look was Apr 27: tall black panels with wide gaps of open steel between them, and a sandy yard (Apr 11).

For an outside check: NASASpaceflight (NSF) reported on Apr 23 that the main steel truss had reached its maximum height and that the siding was going up with progress every day. That fits what I see: the frame is done climbing, and the wall has been catching up with it. SpaceX says the finished building will stand 380 feet tall.

June 25 snapshot

Three photos from the morning of June 25 (8:08, 8:09 and 8:10 AM by my phone’s clock). The header photo above is the second one, the north side. The other two are the south side: first an angled look from the road, then a close-up from a parking lot.

What changed since May

• The wall nearly reaches the top. This is the biggest change on the north side. On May 20 the black wall looked like about two-thirds of the visible height, by eye. On June 25 it reaches nearly to the top (header photo and the comparison above). It goes on in horizontal rows called courses, from the bottom up, and I can’t say how many rows were added, because my angles don’t match exactly.
• Only a thin band of open steel is left. Above the wall I see a thin band of white steel, a flat roof-level frame with diagonal braces, and in the south close-up what look like gray panels between the braces, which might be roof deck. I can’t see the top surface from the ground, so I can’t tell you how much roof is on. A line of thin horizontal rails runs along the top edge in the south close-up, which I think is edge protection for the crews.
• The south side has two tall openings. In April the south end had tall black panels with wide gaps of open steel between them (Apr 11 and Apr 27). On June 25 the south wall looks continuous around two very tall openings framed in steel: a steel column up each side (the jambs) and a beam across the top (the header). I think these are the huge bay-door openings where the ship will enter, but that’s my guess from how they look. I see stacked white steel framing inside, and no door panels in either opening.
• A big plain dark wall on the south side. In the close-up the south face is a huge, plain dark wall around the two tall openings. I can’t tell what it’s made of or how it’s attached. In the angled photo, the part of the wall I can see looks plain dark gray too.
• The two north openings. The two garage-door-style openings at the base on the north side look much as they did in May, framed in steel with white steel inside (header photo). I don’t see door panels in them, and I can’t see inside, so I can’t say whether doors are in.
• Site work. The ground around the south end looks very different from the sandy yard I saw on Apr 11. Now there’s a parking lot with painted lines, black planters with small shrubs along the wall, gravel, a tall light pole, a lawn with trees, a small gazebo and green boxes (south photos). On the north side I see a line of green shrubs along the base, which I don’t remember from May. I can’t tell whether it’s planting or plants that grew in. There’s also a big gray pipe by the roadside ditch with water in it, and tan and white trailers and many parked vehicles at the right. Some of this may have been there in May, so I can’t say what’s new.
• Cranes. I describe cranes only by color. In the north photo I count a handful: a tall orange one at the left, a small yellow one far at the left, and two red ones at the right. I can’t tell you what kinds they are or what they’re doing. On May 20 I saw yellow ones on top of the frame and a tall red one at the left. I don’t see any above the frame in my June photo, but my angle is different, so I can’t say where they went.

What impressed me most

Two things. The north wall, which in 36 days went from about two-thirds black to nearly all the way to the top, with the steel poking out just a little above it. And the south side, with those two tall steel-framed openings in a big plain dark wall. It’s such a different look from the tall panels and wide gaps I showed in April. It’s a big change in a short time. 🚀

What I’m watching next

• The top of the building. I can’t see the roof from the road, but I’ll watch the thin band of steel along the top edge for anything new. Closing in the walls and the roof is what builders call the building envelope. SpaceX says the finished Gigabay will stand 380 feet tall.
• The last bit of wall. I’ll look at how the wall meets the steel at the top, and at the lighter gray wall at the left end of the north side.
• The garage-door-style openings on the north side. I’ll keep looking for any change at them, such as door panels or door frames.
• The south side’s large bay doors. These are where the ship will enter. I’ll keep checking the two tall openings for door panels or other changes.
• The ground around it. More parking, planters, light poles and landscaping would tell me the sitework is moving along.
• The cranes outside. I’ll keep noting how many I can see, and what color they are.

I’ll keep snapping photos every few weeks as I drive by. Look out for the next report!

Sources

• SpaceX, “Future of Building Starship” (Mar 3, 2025): 380 ft building, 24 work cells. spacex.com/updates
• NASASpaceflight, Apr 23, 2026 (primary steel truss at maximum height, siding progress every day): article

All photos by The Star Queen, taken at Kennedy Space Center. Some areas of the photos are blacked out for privacy. Photos are not official and are not affiliated with SpaceX or NASA.

Thank you for stargazing with me. Until next time, keep looking up (and sideways, at the cranes). ✨