Hello, stargazers! 🚀 Welcome to my Gigabay Progress Report for February. This month I got two drive-by chances at the SpaceX Gigabay at Kennedy Space Center: February 5 and February 7. That’s only 2 days apart, so most of the story is really “what changed since my last report on January 28”: 8 days before my first set and 10 days before my second. These two drive-bys are the only February photos I took. What impressed me most? Once again, how fast it climbs. 🏗️
A reminder: I took every one of these as I drove by. I didn’t stop, so expect glare, wobble, the occasional mirror and a tree or two in the way. They aren’t fantastic, but most people can’t get this close, and I know how lucky I am. 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 go out the side window, so the viewing angle changes from photo to photo. That’s why my sets never line up perfectly, and I’ll use “left end” and “right end” of the building as I see it in each photo. This month: my Feb 5 photos were taken in the late afternoon (around 4:36 PM by my phone’s clock) and my Feb 7 photos in the morning (around 10:16 AM). I’m not going to read anything into shadows or sun angle, but the light does look different between the two sets.
Where we left off in January
In my January report I counted about five levels of floor deck on the taller side, with column stubs poking up above the top deck, four tower cranes, X-bracing in nearly every bay I could see, and no siding, roof or doors. Here’s what I’m comparing against from Jan 28:
- Height. About five levels of floor deck in my long-side close-ups. My Dec 31 to Jan 28 comparison had the right-hand end at roughly 4–5 levels.
- Column stubs. Lots of them above the top deck, some with small splice plates on top, waiting for the next tier of columns.
- Cranes. Four tower cranes counted in my wide shots (some hide behind each other).
- Enclosure. None: no siding, roof deck or doors.
For an outside check: NASASpaceflight (NSF) reported on Jan 20 that the Gigabay’s west side had reached “Level 4” while the east side was just starting Level 3. I couldn’t find a newer NSF report with level counts for early February, so for this month I’m going by my own photos. Remember, their “levels” are tiers of columns, so they won’t match my floor-deck counts.
February 5 snapshot
Five photos from late afternoon on Feb 5. The first two are wide shots from the road; the others get closer to the long side. The frame still looks like a bare steel skeleton, with gray floor deck level after level and lots of diagonal bracing.
February 7 snapshot
Five photos from the morning of Feb 7, under a clear blue sky, plus the header photo at the top. The sky made the white frame pop, and I could finally count cranes and levels more easily.
Header photo: Feb 7 – wide, from the road. This is the photo at the top of the post. It looks like the same palm-tree spot as my Dec 31 wide shot. Look for: the tall middle block standing above both ends, the crane booms (four from here, with more hiding behind), and the orange rope and palms in front.
What changed since January 28
Big caveat: my sets were shot from different spots and angles (see “How I take these”), so I’m comparing carefully and I say “appears” when I can’t be sure. I’m also counting the same way I did in January: levels of floor deck I can see from the road.
- It appears to be about one level taller. In my close-ups I count about six levels of floor deck on Feb 5 and Feb 7, compared with about five on Jan 28. That’s roughly one more level in 8 to 10 days, but my counts could easily be off by one.
- The middle block now stands above both ends. In my Feb 7 wide shot the tallest block looks like about seven levels, maybe eight (I’m least sure about that one), with the ends lower, around six.
- Tops look more filled in, but it’s not topped out. The left-hand block, which was bristling with column stubs on Jan 28, appears to have its top level framed in. Column stubs are still sticking up in a few places in both sets, so more steel is still going up.
- Cranes: five booms instead of four. I count five crane booms in my clearest wide shots (Feb 5 photos 1 and 2, Feb 7 photos 4 and 5), versus four in January. At least four are tower cranes. The fifth might be a new crane or one I couldn’t see before, and I can’t tell whether it’s a tower crane or a different type. In my Feb 7 shots two black masts run up through the frame. I can’t tell whether any crane has been climbed higher.
- Bracing and decking. Diagonal bracing shows in nearly every bay on the long side and also on the end faces. Gray metal deck appears on most levels. I can’t say which pieces are new since Jan 28.
- Still no enclosure. I see no siding, roof deck or doors in either set, and the footprint looks the same, so the growth is still upward.
- Ground work. I see orange and blue boom lifts, an excavator with workers in hi-vis vests, a dump truck, dumpsters, white trailers, cones, caution tape, parked vehicles and yellow dotted mats at the road edge. I can’t say which are new, and I can’t see the far side or the inside.
Terms to know ✨
- Tier: columns are stacked in sections called tiers, each usually several floors tall, joined by splices. The “levels” that NASASpaceflight reports are tiers, not interior floors, which is why they don’t match my floor-deck counts.
- Top-out: the moment the last major piece of structural steel is set. Traditionally crews raise a signed beam, sometimes with a flag or a little tree. As far as I can see, the Gigabay isn’t there yet.
- Crane climbing and ties: a tower crane “climbs” by adding mast sections so it stays taller than the building. As it climbs, it’s “tied” to the building at intervals so it can’t tip. The dark frames around the black masts in my close-ups appear to be those ties.
- Boom lift: a wheeled platform with a long arm and a basket for workers. It carries people, not steel. That’s different from a tower crane, which lifts the steel itself.
- Laydown yard: open ground next to the building where steel, deck and equipment are stored and sorted before the cranes lift them. The dirt and gravel around the base appears to be used that way, but I can’t see the whole yard from the road.
What impressed me most
Honestly, the speed again. Between Jan 28 and Feb 7, only 10 days, the frame appears to have gained about a level, the middle block now clearly towers over the ends, and the cranes are still busy all around it. I find it amazing to watch. SpaceX wastes no time. 🚀
What I’m watching next
- Top-out. Once the last columns are up, steel crews normally set the long roof trusses and roof steel across the top. SpaceX says the finished Gigabay will stand 380 feet tall, so there’s still more to go.
- Enclosure. Siding normally begins at the bottom once the steel is high enough, and I’ll look for the first panels and for the doors. I haven’t seen any yet.
- Bridge cranes. SpaceX says the Gigabay will have bridge cranes of up to 400 US tons, running on rails high inside. Look for rail brackets near the top.
- Cranes coming down. Tower cranes usually come down only after the high steel is done.
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, bridge cranes up to 400 US tons. spacex.com/updates
- NASASpaceflight, Jan 20, 2026 (west side at Level 4, east side starting Level 3): article
All photos by The Star Queen, taken from the road at Kennedy Space Center. 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). ✨