Home » Home »
By Space Coast Daily // December 17, 2024
By Richard Tribou
PHYS.ORG – Could Elon Musk and SpaceX be set to drop $1.8 billion for new launch support facilities in Cape Canaveral?
Space Florida, the state’s aerospace economic development entity, isn’t saying who wants to spend the money. Still, they will discuss the secretive plan called “Project Hinton” at a meeting this week.
The agenda notes for Wednesday’s meeting outlined the project as a “high-volume production facility, high bay and launch infrastructure at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport.”
The price tag is greater than the $1 billion Jeff Bezos sunk into refurbishing Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 36 for his Blue Origin New Glenn rocket, so it falls in line with Musk’s plans for launching hundreds, and eventually thousands, of Starships a year in his quest to create a colony on Mars.
SpaceX is already trying to get Starship pads built at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39-A as well as pursuing a takeover of Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 37, which United Launch Alliance had used until this year’s final Delta IV Heavy launch.
The Canaveral site is in the midst of an environmental impact study led by the Air Force, while the KSC site has one being run by the Federal Aviation Administration.
SpaceX now conducts Starship test launches from its Starbase site in Boca Chica, Texas, which is home to manufacturing facilities to knock out the Super Heavy boosters and Starship upper stages.
For now, in Florida, SpaceX has a manufacturing site on KSC property to build and refurbish boosters for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.
Similar facilities to what’s used in Texas that could be closer to the Florida launch pads might be in SpaceX’s plans, and Project Hinton could align with that.
Or Project Hinton could be for another rocket company with nearly $2 billion in spending power.
The Sentinel reached out to Space Florida and SpaceX for comment.
According to the Space Florida agenda item, the project “will enable rapid manufacturing, assembly and integration of heavy lift flight hardware” and “will significantly increase the volume and mass of payload to orbit from Florida.”
It touts the project as expecting about $1.8 billion in capital improvements and bringing 600 jobs with average wages of $93,000 a year.
CLICK HERE to see the full story on Phys.org>>>
Click Here to Sign Up for Text Alerts
Or Signup Below For Email Alerts!
Français 
English