The space facilities around Cape Canaveral on Florida’s east coast are being prepared for a major ramp-up in flight activity over the coming months, years, and decades. This increase in spaceflight activity not only requires new launch pads and upgrades to processing facilities but also expanded factories and new additions to Port Canaveral. The port additions are to accommodate a new generation of reusable rocket stages beyond Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy.
NSF’s Max Evans and Julia Bergeron conducted a recent flyover of the Space Coast that not only gives us a look at the progress of these upgrades but also hints at flight activity to come this year and next. SpaceX has resumed work on the Starship launch facility at the Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39A while Blue Origin second stage hardware was seen being tested.