Gigabay Progress Report: July 2026 – The Black Wall Meets the Roof Steel

Posted on by The Star Queen

Hello, stargazers! 🚀 Welcome to my Gigabay Progress Report for July. July got busy for me, so I have two quick drive-by sessions at the SpaceX Gigabay at Kennedy Space Center: July 2 (three photos, about a minute apart) and July 9 (one photo, taken in the late afternoon). Fair warning: it shows. Between the busy month and my drive-by photography technique (point, shoot, hope), these are not going in a gallery, but the Gigabay doesn’t mind, and neither do I. 😄 My last report covered June 25, so July 2 is 7 days later and July 9 is 14 days later. What stands out? The big black wall now runs all the way up to the steel at the top. On the north side I can’t find a gap between the wall and the open steel, and that steel now reads as a thin band across the top. On the south side the two huge, tall openings are still open, and the ground around the building is busy. 🖤🏗️

Header photo: July 9 – the north side, a close look from the road (4:39 PM). This is the photo at the top of the post. I think this is the north side: the lighter gray end wall at the left matches my earlier north-side photos, though trees hide the bottom of the wall here, so I can’t see the two garage-door-style openings in this one. Look for: the huge, plain black wall running right up to the bottom of the open white steel above it, across the whole width; the thin band of white steel along the top, with criss-cross braces, what look like work lights and a small lift platform inside it, a red strip near the left, and a railing along the top edge; the lighter gray end wall at the left, which reaches up to the top of the steel with a stair-stepped edge at its top corner; a few orange cranes poking up around the building, one at the left, one at the top and one at the right; and green trees and grass in front. 🌿

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: three photos are from the afternoon of July 2, at about 1:36, 1:36 and 1:37 PM by my phone’s clock, under a sunny sky with big puffy clouds, and one photo is from July 9 at about 4:39 PM under a pale, hazy sky. Two of the July 2 photos show the south side, where the huge bay doors will be and where the ship will enter, and the third July 2 photo and the July 9 header photo show the north side, the side with the two garage-door-style openings. I figured out which side is which by comparing with my June, May and April photos: the south side has very tall steel-framed openings, and the north side has two small openings at the base and a lighter gray wall at the left end.

Where we left off in June

In my June report the big news was that the black wall on the north side reached nearly to the top. (My May, April, March, February and January reports show how it got there.) My last photos were from June 25, so that’s the day I’m comparing against:

  • Wall. On the north side, a black wall that reached nearly to the top, with only a thin band of open white steel above it, by eye.
  • Openings. On the north side, two garage-door-style openings at the base, with white steel visible inside and no door panels that I could see. On the south side, two very tall openings framed in steel, in a big plain dark wall.
  • Steel above. A thin band of white steel with diagonal braces, what looked like gray panels between the braces, and railings along the top edge.
  • Cranes. A handful of cranes: a tall orange one at the left, a small yellow one far at the left, and two red ones at the right on the north side. (I describe cranes only by color.)
  • Ground. Around the south end, a parking lot with planters, gravel, a light pole, a lawn with trees, a small gazebo and green boxes. On the north side, a line of green shrubs along the base, trailers, many parked vehicles and a big gray pipe by the roadside ditch.
Gigabay KSC – side-by-side of the north side, June 25, 2026 and July 2, 2026; on both days a flat black wall with two small openings at the base reaches nearly to a thin band of open white steel along the top, with a tall orange crane at the left and red cranes at the right; yellow boxes mark the black wall and blue boxes mark the open steel frame above it
The north side, 7 days apart. June 25 (left) vs. July 2 (right). The July photo was taken from a different angle, so please don’t measure heights too closely, and a week is a short time. In the yellow boxes: the black wall on both days, with the lighter gray end wall at the left. In the blue boxes: the thin band of open steel along the top. Look for: the two openings at the base on both days, the tall orange crane at the left, and the red cranes at the right. The cranes look much the same from week to week, but I can’t tell what they’re doing. The change I can see best is in my July 9 header photo, where the black wall runs right up under the steel across the whole width, with no gap I can find.

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 was done climbing by then, and now the wall has caught up with it. SpaceX says the finished building will stand 380 feet tall.

July 2 snapshot

Three photos from the afternoon of July 2 (1:36, 1:36 and 1:37 PM by my phone’s clock). The first two are the south side, one right after the other, and the third is the north side.

Gigabay KSC – July 2, 2026 – south side – view through the windshield of a huge dark wall with two tall steel-framed openings, a band of open white steel with criss-cross braces across the top, a lighter gray wall at the right, an orange crane at the right, palm trees, a low dark building at the left and a row of parked cars along the base
July 2 – the south side, from the road (1:36 PM). This is the south side, where the large bay doors will be. Look for: two very tall openings framed in steel, one at the left partly hidden behind trees and a wider one at the right, with criss-cross white steel inside and a patch of sky at the top of the right one; no door panels that I can see; the wall running up to the band of open white steel across the top; the lighter gray wall at the right, which I think is the side that faces the road; a tall orange crane at the far right; palm trees in front; a low dark building at the left; and a long row of parked cars along the base. I took this one through my windshield, so some reflections from inside my car can show in the glass. The wall looks plain dark.
Gigabay KSC – July 2, 2026 – south side – steep close view from the road of the big plain dark south wall with two tall steel-framed openings, orange cones, two blue portable toilets, a white trailer with an orange stripe, a yellow machine at the left, white plastic barriers and sandy ground; a black privacy block covers the car window frame at the upper right; the photo was taken through my car window, so some reflections from inside my car show in the glass
July 2 – the south side, close from the road, 20 seconds later (1:36 PM). This is the south side again, seen at a steep angle from very close, so everything leans. I took this one through my car window, so some reflections from inside my car show in the glass. Look for: two tall openings framed in steel, the nearer one showing white steel platforms and ladders inside; the big plain dark wall around them; the huge dark wall at the right, which I think is the side facing the road; orange cones, two blue portable toilets and a white job trailer with an orange stripe; a yellow machine at the left that I think is a telehandler; a small blue machine near the base; a line of white plastic barriers at the lower left; a long white pipe lying along the ground; a light pole with two lamps; a small white steel frame at the base that I can’t identify; and sandy, gravelly ground. At the top left, the band of open steel sits at the roof. The black block at the top right is a privacy edit. It covers the window frame of my car.
Gigabay KSC – July 2, 2026 – north side – view through the windshield from the road of a huge flat black wall with a lighter gray end wall at the left, a band of open white steel along the top, two openings at the base, a tall orange crane at the left, two red cranes at the right, parked vehicles, white trailers and green grass
July 2 – the north side, from the road (1:37 PM). This is the north side. Look for: the huge black wall with the lighter gray end wall at the left; the thin band of open white steel along the top, with a railing and what looks like a tiny flag near the middle (I’m not sure); the two garage-door-style openings at the base, framed in steel, with no door panels that I can see; a tall orange crane at the left and two red ones at the right; a light pole; parked vans, trucks and white and tan trailers along the base; a low black fabric fence along the grass that looks like the silt fence I wrote about in March; green shrubs; and something gray and round lying by the roadside that might be the pipe from June.

What changed since June

  • The wall now meets the steel. This is the biggest change on the north side. On June 25 the black wall reached nearly to the top. By July 9 it runs right up to the bottom of the open white steel across the whole width, and I can’t find a gap (header photo). The same is true on the south side in my July 2 photos. Builders call the view of one outside face an elevation, so this is the north elevation and the south elevation. A week is a short time, so my June 25 and July 2 north-side photos look much alike. I can’t say what was added in between.
  • The steel at the top is a thin band. It’s a flat, roof-level frame with diagonal braces. Inside it I can see what look like work lights, a small lift platform and a red strip, and a railing runs along the top edge, which I think is edge protection. I can’t see the top surface from the ground, so I can’t tell how much roof is on.
  • The lighter gray end wall. At the left end of the north side, the end wall is clad right up to the top of the steel, with a stair-stepped edge at its top corner (header photo). I can’t say whether that corner changed since June.
  • The south side’s openings are still open. The two very tall openings framed in steel are still there, with white steel visible inside and no door panels that I can see. The wall around them runs continuously up to the steel at the top. I think these are the huge bay-door openings where the ship will enter, but that’s my guess from how they look.
  • The two north openings. The two garage-door-style openings at the base look much as they did in June, framed in steel with no door panels that I can see (July 2 north photo, and the comparison). I can’t see inside, so I can’t say whether doors are in.
  • Busy ground. The south end has lots of temporary facilities in view: two blue portable toilets, a job trailer and more trailers, and plenty of traffic control such as orange cones and white plastic barriers. There’s a yellow machine I think is a telehandler and a small blue machine, plus sand and gravel that look like a laydown area. On the north side I see parked vehicles, trailers, shrubs and a low black fence along the grass. I can’t tell what’s new since June and what was already there.
  • Cranes. I describe cranes only by color. On July 2 on the north side I count a handful: a tall orange one at the left and two red ones at the right, and on the south side a tall orange one. On July 9 I see a few orange ones around the building, one at the left, one at the top and one at the right. I can’t tell you what kinds they are or what they’re doing. They look much like the ones in June, but my angles keep changing, so I can’t say if any were added or taken away.

Terms to know ✨

  • Elevation: in building plans, a view of one outside face of a building. The “north elevation” is the north side. I use “side” most of the time, but builders say elevation.
  • End wall: a wall at the short end of a building, at a right angle to the long wall. I think the lighter gray wall at the left end of my north photos is an end wall.
  • Telehandler: a wheeled machine with a long arm that reaches out and up to lift and place materials, a bit like a forklift on stilts. I think the yellow machine at the left of my south photo is one, but I’m not sure.
  • Temporary facilities: things that are only there while the building is built, such as portable toilets, job trailers and fencing for the crews. They come down when the work is done.
  • Traffic control: cones, barrels, signs and barriers that keep vehicles and people where they should be around a work area. The orange cones and white plastic barriers in my south photo are examples.

What impressed me most

The wall. On May 20 it looked like about two-thirds of the way up, on June 25 it was nearly at the top, and now it runs right up under the steel. That’s three photo sessions, about two months, and a plain black wall that keeps climbing until it meets the frame. And with the two tall steel-framed openings on the south side still open, I can almost picture the ship rolling in. 🚀

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 corners and edges of the wall. I’ll look at how the wall meets the steel at the top, and at the stair-stepped top corner of the lighter gray end wall on 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. I’ll also watch whether the trailers, portable toilets and cones are still there.
  • 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). ✨

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