SpaceX Falcon 9 Rockets To Be Refurbished At New Digs In Port Canaveral

Elon Musk’s space launch company SpaceX is leasing a building on the north side of Port Canaveral, where it will move some of its operations. Port Canaveral CEO John Murray told port authorities Wednesday that SpaceX may construct another building on an empty plot adjacent to the one it has leased, Florida Today reported.

Earlier in August, SpaceX spokesman John Taylor told the news outlet that given the company’s “recent progress in recovering first stage Falcon 9 boosters,” it was “looking to expand our facilities on the Space Coast to support rocket refurbishment.”

Murray said SpaceX will likely carry out the refurbishments at the new site, and also perform other tasks. He told Florida Today, “SpaceX plans to move into the 52,000-square-foot former Spacehab building through a temporary property-use permit between the company and the port” even before the formal lease agreement is signed.

According to SpaceX, the temporary permit would allow it to assess the suitability of the facility for its operations. Taylor said temporary use of the building would “give us time to evaluate the building's suitability to support SpaceX’s business in Florida on a longer-term basis.”

Port Canaveral is only about two miles from the Cape Canaveral Launch Complex, the space pad from where SpaceX often launches its rockets. The proximity between the two places will make it easier, faster and cheaper for the company to transport the refurbished rockets to the launch site.

Most recently, a Falcon 9 rocket put a Japanese communications satellite in orbit on Aug. 14 and made another successful landing on a floating barge in the Atlantic Ocean.