SpaceX Starship taking shape at Cocoa steel facility

Largest spaceship ever under construction at Coastal Steel

COCOA, Fla. – The future of space is taking shape on the Space Coast. 

SpaceX is leasing Coastal Steel to build its largest spaceship ever. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said right now, there is simultaneous construction of the interplanetary Starship going on in both Texas and Florida.

Rising from the grounds of the facility Thursday, the Starship is starting to take shape. It will stand 180 feet tall and be 30 feet wide.

Production on Cidco Road was initially unannounced by SpaceX. Musk later confirmed the operation on Twitter.

"Both sites will make many Starships. This is a competition to see which location is most effective. Answer might be both," Musk tweeted.

A security guard Thursday said no one at the Cocoa site will talk about the production.

The Starship and its Super Heavy booster were formerly known as the Big Falcon Rocket or the BFR.

Starship will launch atop a 200 foot tall Super Heavy booster with 31 engines.

That's four more engines than SpaceX's current most powerful rocket, the Falcon Heavy.

SpaceX also said Starship will be fully reusable for human flights to the moon and Mars. Starship is years away from flight.

SpaceX said it will launch from the Kennedy Space Center and will be big enough and powerful enough to fly 100 interplanetary colonists.


About the Author:

James joined News 6 in March 2016 as the Brevard County Reporter. His arrival was the realization of a three-year effort to return to the state where his career began. James is from Pittsburgh, PA and graduated from Penn State in 2009 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

Recommended Videos