---
title: 'Florida''s Space Race Heats Up | Space Coast Update'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=6XlXritWnjY'
video_id: '6XlXritWnjY'
date: 2026-08-05
duration_sec: 1574
---

# Florida's Space Race Heats Up | Space Coast Update

> Source: [Florida's Space Race Heats Up | Space Coast Update](https://youtube.com/watch?v=6XlXritWnjY)

## Summary

This video provides a comprehensive update on the state of space infrastructure along Florida's Space Coast, covering major developments at SpaceX, Blue Origin, and other companies. It highlights the construction of new facilities, launch pads, and the progress toward future launches, including Starship and New Glenn.

### Key Points

- **SpaceX's Gigabay at Roberts Road** [00:48] — The Gigabay building is nearly complete, with exterior cladding almost finished. It will have 24 work cells, and SpaceX is already building workstands and tooling nearby. The interior outfitting is the next major step.
- **New Hangars and Parking Expansion** [03:15] — SpaceX is constructing additional hangars (Hangar X3 and X4) at Roberts Road and has applied to build a new 6.15-acre parking lot due to inadequate current parking facilities.
- **Starship Launch Mount for SLC-37A** [04:46] — The new Starship launch mount for the first pad at SLC-37A is being assembled, with eight bottom-layer pieces in place. It will feature a middle layer for hold-down clamps and a top deck with water manifolds for deluge.
- **First Starship Launch from Florida** [06:06] — Gwynne Shotwell confirmed that Starship's first launch from Florida could happen as soon as Flight 15, contingent on the success of the next two flights. Transport of vehicles will initially use the barge 'Marmac 31'.
- **Blue Origin's LC-36 Recovery** [07:02] — After the New Glenn explosion, Blue Origin is using cranes to dismantle the damaged service tower segment by segment. The launch deck is still in the trench and needs removal.
- **New Glenn Hybrid Operations** [08:20] — New Glenn 7x2 will move to a hybrid concept of operations: booster and second stage will be mated horizontally in the HIF, then stacked vertically on the pad with a crane, and the fairing with payload placed on top.
- **LC-36B for New Glenn 9x4** [10:20] — LC-36B is being built for the larger 9x4 variant of New Glenn. Drilling for foundations has resumed, and the pad is expected to support the bigger rocket.
- **Stoke Space's Nova Progress** [12:24] — Stoke Space's launch complex 14 is complete and ready for operations, waiting for a rocket for testing. Nova is fully reusable, carrying ~3 tons to LEO, with both stages designed to land and fly again.
- **Starship Tower Stacking at SLC-37** [14:18] — SpaceX has begun stacking the first Starship launch tower at SLC-37, with four of nine modules placed. The tower roof and chopsticks are also being prepared.
- **Second Pad SLC-37B** [17:38] — Work on a second Starship pad, SLC-37B, has started with a continuous flight auger drill placing piles for the tower foundation.
- **LC-39A Starship Pad Progress** [18:32] — The LC-39A Starship pad is further along, with SpaceX hoping it becomes operational before the end of the year. The tank farm is mostly complete, with testing underway, and a blast wall is being erected.
- **Falcon 9 Moves to SLC-40** [21:37] — All East Coast Falcon 9 missions have moved to SLC-40, leaving LC-39A for Falcon Heavy. A new landing zone at SLC-40 (LZ-40) has been built, and NASA granted land adjacent to LC-39A for a new landing pad.
- **ULA's Vulcan and SLS Updates** [23:29] — ULA is stacking the first Vulcan rocket for Amazon's Kuiper launches at VIF-A. NASA's SLS for Artemis 2 is being prepared for stacking, while Mobile Launcher 2 is being scrapped for parts.

### Conclusion

The Space Coast is undergoing rapid transformation with multiple companies building new infrastructure for upcoming launches. SpaceX is advancing Starship pads, Blue Origin is recovering from the New Glenn explosion and preparing for future variants, and other players like Stoke Space are nearing their first flights.

## Transcript

coast of Florida as Blue Origin takes apart their tower at launch complex 36 following the nuclean explosion in May. SpaceX is building a new Starship tower at Space Launch Complex 37. SpaceX and Blue are also quickly assembling new
cadence in the near future while the new kids on the block stoke space and We'll have all of that and much more in this Space Coast update.
>> As usual, I won't be alone as Sawyer and Alex are joining to help us break down hand it over to Sawya for a look at SpaceX's Robert's Road facility. It's been a while since our last proper Space Coast update, and things have changed
quite a bit. We'll start first with the biggest change at Robert's Road, the this building is pretty much now complete, and the exterior cladding is almost finished. It's been a year and a half since SpaceX first cleared the area
for its construction back at the start of 2025, but now it's almost finally built. Of course, for now, it's just a big black cube with very little to no actual tooling inside. That's going to be the next major step for SpaceX. This
gigaby was designed and built to have 24 work cells. The Starbase Meabay are smaller with only a few cells and took months to outfit them. In fact, some outfitting work is still going on every now and then. Because of this, SpaceX is
well ahead of the game and is already building workstands and tooling to the little area to the northeast of the Hangar X2 building for that. And we can see the hardware starting to be put together. This is just the start, of
time, so we'll be keeping an eye on them on future flyovers. Now, the work area inside the gigabay won't be the only one needing outfitting. If you take a look building, they don't go all the way up. Just like with the mega bays at
building won't be for rocket manufacturing, but will instead be regular floor space. It could be for offices or for visitors, as well as a viewing location for launches or all the above. We don't really know. From what
the floor layout will be that of a rectangle with a square hole in the doughut or bagel. [music] The roof itself is also almost complete, interesting to see what the final look of the building is, cuz frankly, the all
black look is just going to end up looking like, well, a big black cube in something else apart from the black, then maybe that might make it look a little cooler. And in terms of cooler, all black in the Florida heat. Yikes.
Besides, on a closer look, speaking of that weather, it already appears to be doing a number on those black panels. We also noticed on this flight that the smaller two entrances at the back of the bay already have their doors installed.
bigger entrances at the front are being assembled just next to the big red and yellow cranes to the west of the gigabay. That's pretty big. And for some concrete pad to the north right behind the bay. We don't know yet what it is,
but I'm sure we'll figure it out at some point. Now, the gigabay hasn't been the There's been some reorganization as well. First and foremost, the tower sections for the first Starship tower at Space Launch Complex 37 were removed and
transported to the pad. Weirdly, months before the area was even ready for stacking. Then SpaceX decided to put a new building in that same location. As structure is not only up, but also receiving cladding already. [music] This
would be the third hanger in the area, which already has hangar X and Hangar X2. So, I guess this is some sort of Hangar X3. Not to mention, there's another building to the north of Hangar X2 going up as well. Maybe Hangar X4. We
don't know yet what either of these two buildings will be for, but given they're Starship Assembly. But that doesn't mean they can't be for Starship. Out at Starbase Sanchez's lot, SpaceX has a massive receiving and shipping tent and
an area for building components, tooling, pad hardware, and much more. SpaceX doesn't have that here on the Space Coast. So, chances are as they begin Starship operations from Florida, they'll try and duplicate some of that
buildings as Robert's Road. This increase in new workspaces and more things to work on in general means SpaceX will need more parking spaces for employees, and they are running out of it fast. [music] Because of this, it's
no surprise SpaceX is applying to build a parking lot next to the east lane of A Avenue, the avenue running perpendicular to Robert's Road. The documentation explains that the parking lot will have an area of about 6.15 acres and that
it's needed because the current parking facilities at the Roberts Road campus are inadequate to meet current and future operational needs. While Starship occur elsewhere, Robert's Road still hosts pad hardware assembly and
construction. In particular, the brand new Starship launch mount for the first launchpad at Slick 37, which SpaceX has confirmed they're naming Slick 37A. This eight pieces of the bottom layer now in place at the rolling tent area. The
mount will feature two more layers. A middle layer where all the hold down that will spray water to protect the mount during liftoff, just like we saw on Starship's 12th flight. Three of the four major pieces of that top deck are
tent. And two of the four water manifolds for it are already staged to the west of the tent. So, it seems like it won't be long until we see everything hardware in this area of Robert's Road, but they'll probably be better
the launchpads. You know how I was saying the Gigab Bay will need outfitting? Well, it'll also need Starship vehicles, too. And those will have to come all the way from Starbase, at least until SpaceX has their own
[music] The transportation of vehicles will be done initially using the Marmarmac 31 barge, also known as, you'll thank me later. While it's currently just docked at Port Canaveral and not a whole lot is going on with it
under one of the many tents at Robert's Road, we can see part of the hardware vertical future Superheavy boosters. This hardware starting to appear likely means we won't be that far from the first transport. In fact, recently
SpaceX's president and COO Gwyn Shawwell confirmed that Starship's first launch could happen as soon as flight 15. That is, of course, if things go really well for Starship in the next two flights. But if they really are about to make
things ready. You'll thank me later won't be alone in the future, though. drone ship, just read the instructions, into another Starship transport barge. The only problem is that ever since it stopped being used for Falcon landings,
at all. At least it's got a lot of booster landings on its deck before can't say the same because it's only had two landings so far, and the next one means now is as good a time as any to hand it over to Ryan for everything
happening with Blue Origin here at the Space Coast. Ryan, to say that the skyline has changed at launch complex 36 would probably be an understatement. stack that was meant to launch on the rocket's fourth mission exploded
dramatically on the launchpad right at the start of what was going to be a launch. The lightning tower that was right next to the rocket got destroyed and the service tower on the other side got seriously damaged. Just a few weeks
later, three cooler cranes are already standing fully vertical on site with another crane currently in the process of being assembled. One of those cranes is a Dayax CC8800, the exact example previously used in the construction of
Starbase's P 2 and NASA's mobile launcher 2. Considering this mammoth machine was only just raised over the weekend of June 27th and 28th, it the cleanup work, but more the repair work. Dave Limp tweeted that Blue will
start pulling down the damaged service tower segment by segment so they can modify each piece in parallel. Just after we got back on the ground, the first tower module was lifted and removed by said CC8800 crane. This is
the module which includes the huge Lightning rod on top. On the 4th of July, the second module was lifted off, appropriately adorned with a giant launch deck is still sitting in the trench at a very unhealthy angle. This
huge slab will need removing sooner rather than later as it's going to be in the way of the brand new design Blue has envisioned for LC 36A. Speaking of some new renders this week. New Glen 7x2, that's the current variant with
seven engines on the first stage and two on the second, is moving to a so-called hybrid concept of operations. That means the booster and second stage will still will then be stacked vertically on the pad using a normal crane. The fairing
with the payload inside will then be placed at top the stack at the pad. I went into much more detail over on the braking space channel. So, if you checking it out after you finish this video. Of course, inside of the
horizontal integration facility where those GS1s and GS2s will be mated, we been here for a couple of years now. Interestingly, while the flight of the explosion have since been rolled to Exploration Park, the simulator
hardware has not. Exploration Park is Blue Origin's big campus at the Kennedy Space Center, featuring construction facilities, their launch control center, offices, and much more. Resting outside is the GS1 transporter, which brought
back Never Tell Me the Odds, the first ever new Glen booster to land and the first to be refflown. This campus is ever growing, and since our last Space Coast update, Blue has finally completed the extension to the composite
manufacturing facility. This is where they build those massive fairings for New Glenn. The company has also started construction of a new building which old documentation refers to as a stage storage building. It's not the only one
large foundation which is clearly meant for a large building and forms part of the company's project horizon. According to company officials earlier this year, exclusively to the production of New Glenn second stages, something that will
be needed if they want to ramp up launch cadence in the future. These foundations probably means it's designed to support substantial loads and perhaps even have a tall roof and therefore a large vertical volume inside. This raises the
vertical assembly of second stages rather than the way they're built right this has not been confirmed, this is probably something that we'll better find out once things progress even further. It's not just 7x2 hardware
the future, the larger 9x4 variant will be making an appearance. Of course, a bigger rocket needs a bigger launchpad, which is where launch complex 36B comes in. It's being built just to the north of the existing LC 36A. By the way,
these names 36A and 36B were confirmed last month by Blue Origin's senior vice president of Luna Permanence, John Kures. The fact that the second pad is being built for 9x4 has also been confirmed recently by the company
through the updates on the state of the pad after the nucleon explosion. It was have official confirmation than otherwise. At the time of the explosion, this drilling rig was vertical at LC 36B, but it was lowered shortly after.
that it's vertical once again, so it probably means work has now resumed on its foundations. It's unclear what this new pad will look like, but it could probably be very similar to the way blue now wants 7x2 to work out of 36A. You
shots that the old tents to the north of LC36 are now gone. These were being used for some of Blue's most secret programs, such as the Clipper reusable second stage program. These may have also been the place where the company tested its
deployable aerob showed near the end of last year. These tents were severely damaged by the new Glenn explosion, which explains why they're now gone. or if Blue builds something else there. In order to support a growing launch
cadence in the future, especially with two launch pads working at full brand new facility where they can store and refurbish their boosters. Next to site of the vertical refurbishment facility, which is planned to be a huge
facility where Blue can inspect, repair, and you guessed it, refurbish Glenn Stage 1's, either 7x2's or 9x4s. Thanks to some satellite imagery acquired by construction of this building is underway with the first two levels being
though, as the final structure could be on the order of 145 m tall. It's not progress at the Cape, but also all of the other companies that are based here
Space has been up to as they prepare to fly their medium lift rocket Nova. complex 14 is now, for all intents and purposes, complete with the site appearing to be ready for operations. At this stage, it is simply waiting for a
rocket to arrive for testing ahead of its first launch. If you're an avid you'll know the company has been testing flight hardware in recent weeks. One that the umbilical tower has now been painted red. This appears to be a
deliberate nod to the early days of the space coast when many of the launch Missile Row were finished in the same distinctive red color. It's a nice tribute to the site's heritage while preparing it for a new generation of
And Nova is not only a next-g vehicle, it's the only upcoming vehicle other than Starship to be fully reusable. That's right. Despite only being able to carry three tons or so to low Earth orbit, both stages are being designed to
land and fly again. Relativity Spac's Terran R is a bit larger, planning to carry 10 times more payload to LEO, but it's only designed to be partially significant progress has been made across multiple elements of the site as
Several Lightning tower modules are currently being assembled ahead of stacking operations, indicating that vertical infrastructure work is ramping up. The water tower is also now fully stacked, although it remains to be seen
it will stay in this two-tone paint job. Flame diverter components are also installation work for launch support infrastructure is well underway. In addition, so-called upper Strongback fluid brackets are currently being
ramp leading up to the Terranar launchpad has also progressed noticeably earthwork completed since the last update. Speaking of additional work, been working hard on their launch pads, too. Let's start first with the Starship
launch pads by going north of Relativity to Space Launch Complex 37. Just in the last month, SpaceX has begun stacking the first Starship launch tower at Slick 37. during our team's flyover that we're able to capture the giant LR1 13000
crane. Placing the fourth tower module out of the nine that will make up this structure. While not the middle of the tower in number of modules, modules 7, 8, and 9 are shorter modules. So technically, this fourth one contains
the halfway point of the tower. Nobody recreate now Bonjoby, please. Well, we're halfway there. As Sawyer explained earlier, all of these tower modules had originally been assembled at Robert's Road and were moved to Slick 37 many
and it's something that has allowed them to go at a good pace of about one module enough that our own Julie Burggeron can see it from the ground out in Titusville. So, if you're in the area, chances are you're going to be able to
tower modules, teams have also assembled a tower roof next to them. This tower roof is in fact something that we have already seen at Starby's Tower 2, and it works sort of as a cover that shields the top of the tower. We think it's for
could also be just for general protection. What it's unclear is whether this one is for Slick 37 or for LC39A because we couldn't find where they're building the one for LC39A. So, if
there's only one right now and they want to launch soon for Florida, you think they'd be putting this on the LC39A tower. But then again, why build it at 37, you know? Why not build it at 39A? You get the point. It's not easy to
guess this this stuff. Apart from the tower sections, SpaceX more recently moved the chopsticks and carriage system for this first tower, and they have them in storage right there. Both the chopsticks and a carriage are nowhere
are the only ones that you could say they're at least structurally assembled. The carriage itself is still missing some of its parts, and we were able to spot them still out at Robert's Road. So, they'll need those before completing
that carriage system. Now, quick theory here, but since they're not complete, but they were moved out to Slick 37, it's likely that SpaceX did that just to hardware. Next to the chopsticks and carriage, we also spotted parts for what
appears to be a ship quick disconnect arm. So, it's safe to say this one will Robert's Road. At Slink 37, SpaceX is not only building up, but also digging down. From Harry Stranger's satellite views, we can see this work going on at
the launchpad's flame trench. It also gives us a nice perspective of where everything is relative to each other. As we can see, rebar is now being placed in foundation needed to support the flame diverter and the launch mount. The
launch mount also has a support structure, and the area that will be going is also being prepared for its future placement. Teams have in fact already staged the steel that will make up the main structure for it. At
assembling the service structure off to the side instead of right in place while repairing the flame trench area. So, it wouldn't be surprising if they were to do the same here at Slick 37. War crews are also placing support hardware now
for the propellant and delu tank farms with pedestals and conduits being placed at different locations of Space Launch Complex 37. They've also started to be seen stage to the north of the complex. Needless to say, there are
over the coming months. Now, there's a thing I decided to omit until now, which is the fact that this first Starship launchpad at Slick 37 is technically launchpad at Slick 37 is technically called Space Launch Complex 37A by
on a second launchpad here, which will be 37B. As it turns out, that work for the second pad has already started. And we can see over here a continuous flight auguring drill placing the piles for the tower's foundation. It's probably going
tower going up, but you got to get started somewhere. As part of SpaceX's deal with the Space Force to get this complex, the company also got hold of complex, which they're turning into an air separation unit. Yep, just like the
one being built at Starbase. This one should provide the oxygen to make it over at the tank farm. Apart from Slick 37A and B, SpaceX has another Starship launch pad at LC39A. That one is much further ahead in completion and
SpaceX is in fact hoping it is operational before the end of the year. There are still a few small things here and there that are still left to propellant tank farm, they've installed a great deal of hardware, but it still
feels like some tanks, subcoolers, and pumps are still missing. Now, it's true that they could get away with launching with what they have right now and install the rest at a later time, but it's not like SpaceX sends us a list of
what they're planning to do. You know, we got to guess 99% of this. But it is hardware all over the place. For example, near the crawler way, they've got a lot of vaporizer staged there. There are also some more vertical tanks,
ironically stored sideways. And there are even some subcoolers and high-pressure gas tanks over there as well. Even at Robert's Road, they have a few pumpkits waiting to be sent over for installation. Now, on the things that
may be missing from the tank farm is a new blast wall that SpaceX has erected next to it to protect it from Starship launches. From the satellite views, we and there's another half that needs to go up as well to fully protect it, but
it's not a big deal. It's just a wall. Now, now with all that being said, the tank farm is complete enough that we have seen some testing already underway for the last couple of months. The deluge tank farm has also been completed
to the point of also seeing its testing. In recent times, SpaceX installed a temporary containment wall for the water from this deluge test made out of may say so. This was all while they were building dedicated deluge ponds at each
water. With those now built, the containers are being removed, and in north side of the pad. Now, moving closer to the launch mount and the flame trench. There's still more hardware left to be installed, but it's all coming
flyover, for example, our team spotted SpaceX installing the door of the booster quick disconnect that will be providing liquid oxygen to Super Heavy. service structure as well over the last several months, and it is nearly
completed. That being said, the top of the mount is still scaffold land and fully cover all the internals before testing the top deck deluge. At least over on the tower, the carriage system has been connected to the draw works via
the pulley system. The tower's base also receive a shiny new slope roof to and lendings. Probably had some discount on Home Depot. For some reason, the top half of the tower still has scaffolding. and the ship quick disconnect arm which
was installed earlier this year recently grew a lot of scaffolding as well. Whatever the reason, it's another sign of more work still needed. Sawyer talked earlier about transporting Starship vehicles from Starbase to the Cape. But
before that, those vehicles need stands to sit on for vertical transport. So SpaceX recently delivered from Starbase a pair of ship transport stands and a booster transport stand. And we can in fact see them being stored at LC39A
right next to the Falcon hanger. Now, speaking of Falcon, there may be some ground work ruled into that rocket in the not too distant future. For nearly 9 years, LC39A has hosted both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. But since the
end of last year, SpaceX has moved all East Coast Falcon 9 missions over to Space Launch Complex 40, leaving LC39A just for Falcon Heavy missions. SpaceX's lease of launch complex 13, where landing zones 1 and two are located,
also expired last year. So, how would SpaceX do double booster lendings where zones one and two? Well, they can still use landing zone 2 thanks to an agreement with V space and Phantom Space, the two companies now with the
lease of that area. They've also built a brand new landing zone at Sleek 40 called landing zone 40. Very appropriate. So, for now, double whistings have occurred at LC40 and LC2. SpaceX planned another landing pad at
LC39A to fully replace LC1 and LC2. But not a lot had happened until last month, which is when NASA announced it was granting SpaceX the use of a small area of land adjacent to LC39A to support landing operations. We'll have to keep
cleared and when they start building that new landing zone. Double landings are going to look even more odd. Moving all Falcon 9 launches to Slick 40 also means outfitting this pad with some very special ground support equipment. a
methane tank farm. No, it's not for Starship. Of the many Falcon 9 payloads, Intuitive Machines Nova Calendarer uses liquid methane and liquid oxygen as its propellants. SpaceX installed a small dedicated tank farm at LC39A just to
support launches of this lander loading propellant during the launch countdown. exclusively to Sleek 40, they've installed a new set of tanks for that this is also used to load Impulse Space's Helios kickstage, which also
and they're in Falcon 9's future manifest. Well, that's it for SpaceX's out there which you may want to hear about. Sawyer. Thanks, Alex. North of Space Launch Complex 40 is ULA's Space Launch Complex 41. During our team's
launch platform, still placed right at the center of the complex. This platform the last Atlas 5 satellite launch with the eighth launch of Amazon Leo six Atlas 5 rockets remain and they're all assigned to launching Boeing's
Starlininer spacecraft. This means all other launches from Slick 41 will be with ULA's Vulcan rocket. That rocket suffered another SRB nozzle issue during its last launch back in February. So, it's been sitting idle since then, but
it could launch not long from now. Since May, ULA has been stacking the first Vulcan rocket that will be supporting the launch of Amazon Leo satellites. at the company's vertical integration facility A, also known as VIF A, with
the A standing for Amazon. It's the second VIF built for Vulcan, located about 3 km south of the first one, and it's solely dedicated for Amazon launches. They even built a dedicated mobile launch platform for this kind of
mission. If they're already stacking this rocket, chances are they have an idea as to what happened with the SRB nozzles in February and may just be finalizing that work and getting ready to launch. What do you think? Are we
it still going to take some time? Let us know in the comments down below. One rocket that will hopefully be flying soon is NASA's SLS rocket. The agency launched the Aremis 2 mission around the moon and back in April and is preparing
for the Aremis 3 mission to test the lunar landers in mid 2027. The core stage has been brought to the VAB and the solid rocket boosters arrived by being prepared for the start of stacking. In fact, during our flyover,
we were able to spot the train cars that brought those segments to the Cape. NASA plans to stack the SRVs and core stage together on mobile launcher 1 later this year and rolled them out to launch complex 39B for a tanking test well
ahead of the actual launch attempt. I bet it's going to look really weird without an Orion or upper stage and have that out on the pad. NASA's mobile launcher 2 won't have the luxury of hosting SLS launches though as NASA is
no longer finishing it or continuing development of SLS block 1B. Instead, taken as spares for mobile launcher 1. In our flyover, we could see that almost all the swing arms on the umbilical tower have been removed except for the
core stage intertank swing arm and the SLS interstage swing arm. On the service mass umbilicals and their it and whether it'll be scrapped completely after this or whether it'll
be bought by another company for their own use. I'm sure at this point NASA will welcome any ideas. Things are getting really exciting on the Space Coast, especially as we're maybe just months away from an active Starship pad
other companies moving towards launch potentially this year as well. But until [music] then, I've been Ryan Katum for NSF. Thanks for watching and goodbye.