SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has confirmed the company is developing a dedicated launch platform for its Starship spacecraft at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, near Cape Canaveral, Florida. The goal: enable lunar missions.
In 2014, SpaceX secured a 20-year lease with NASA to use Pad 39A for missions to the International Space Station (ISS). This iconic site previously hosted assembly and launches of NASA's legendary Saturn V rocket and Space Shuttle program.
Currently, Pad 39A supports Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches, but Starship—the company's fully reusable interplanetary vehicle—demands specialized infrastructure. Starship production and testing remain centered at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
On December 3, Elon Musk announced that SpaceX has begun "construction of the spacecraft's orbital launch pad in Cape Canaveral […] 39A is holy ground for spaceflight." He noted that the site will feature "ground support systems and a capture tower similar to Starbase, but improved."
Preliminary work on Pad 39A started in fall 2019 but paused as Starbase operations scaled up.
This infrastructure will support future lunar launches under NASA's Artemis program.
In April, NASA selected SpaceX to develop a Starship-based lunar landing system. Originally slated for the Artemis 3 mission—aiming for human return to the Moon in 2025—the first uncrewed lunar landing demonstration is now required beforehand to validate safe touchdown and return to orbit.
Meanwhile, SpaceX prepares for Starship's inaugural orbital test flight early next year, pending FAA environmental review approval. The prototype will target an altitude of 115 kilometers before splashing down off Kauai's northwest coast.
