ULA Delta IV Launch Tower Demolished to Make Way for SpaceX Starship Operations at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

Planning Up to 76 Launches Annually From SLC-37

WATCH: On Thursday, June 11, the mobile service tower and towering lightning protection structures at the historic Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station were brought down to pave the way for SpaceX to begin constructing new launch and landing facilities. (Michael Seeley video)

BREVARD COUNTY • CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, FLORIDA — On Thursday, June 11, the mobile service tower and towering lightning protection structures at the historic Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station were brought down to pave the way for SpaceX to begin constructing new launch and landing facilities, along with the necessary support infrastructure, for its massive Starship-Super Heavy rocket system — which could start launching from the site as early as next year.

SpaceX is making bold strides toward expanding its Starship operations to Florida’s Space Coast, with recent developments bringing the massive rocket closer to launching from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 37.

The U.S. Department of the Air Force released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement on June 6, detailing the company’s sweeping plans to use the site for Starship-Super Heavy launches, aiming to support a high launch cadence and national security missions.

SpaceX is already building ground infrastructure for Starship at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, and it will operate two parallel Starship pads in Florida capable of supporting dozens of launches each year.

Originally constructed in the 1960s for Saturn I and Saturn IB launches, SLC-37 has a long and storied history, including missions supporting NASA’s Apollo program.

More recently, it served as the launch site for Boeing’s Delta IV rockets, including the mighty Delta IV Heavy. With those vehicles retired, SpaceX is poised to transform the historic site into a modern Starship hub.

Following over a year of interagency coordination and environmental studies, the DAF’s Draft EIS concludes that SpaceX’s proposed activities at SLC-37 are unlikely to significantly harm the environment or public safety. The public will have a 45-day window starting June 13 to comment on the findings, with three in-person scoping meetings scheduled for July 8–10 and a virtual meeting planned later in the month.

A final EIS and a Record of Decision from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are expected by fall 2025. SpaceX, however, is already conducting preliminary work at the site under a limited right of entry.

According to the Draft EIS, SpaceX plans to demolish SLC-37’s legacy Delta IV infrastructure this summer to make room for two Starship launch pads. Each would feature towering 600-foot launch integration towers—significantly taller than those at the company’s Starbase site in Texas or at LC-39A.

The site will also include catch towers for booster recovery, propellant storage systems, and widened access roads to transport massive Starship components. One of the major drivers for developing SLC-37 is its strategic location within a military base, which is vital for national security missions under contracts such as the National Security Space Launch program.

On-Site Propellant Production 

To support its high-cadence goals, SpaceX will build a natural gas processing system, a methane liquefier, and an air separation unit on-site. These facilities will produce the necessary cryogenic fuels—liquid methane and liquid oxygen—for Starship launches.

The company is planning up to 76 launches and 152 landings per year from SLC-37 alone.

Although initial Starship vehicles will be built at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas and shipped to Florida by barge, the company is constructing a large integration and production hub—dubbed “Giga Bay”—at its Roberts Road Operations Complex near Kennedy Space Center.

The Florida Starfactory, expected to be 50% larger than its Texas counterpart, will eventually take over much of the Starship production, with peak activity projected in 2027. To support these operations, SpaceX expects to add 450 full-time employees or contractors by 2026.

The proposed launch trajectories from SLC-37 will initially range from 40 to 115 degrees azimuth, with no current plans to use Florida’s southern polar corridor. However, SpaceX’s long-term ambitions include missions supporting NASA’s Artemis program and eventual human settlement on Mars.

With the demolition of Delta IV infrastructure and the construction of modern Starship facilities, SpaceX is breathing new life into SLC-37.

Once limited to eight Saturn rocket launches and 35 Delta IV missions, the complex may soon support hundreds of annual Starship operations, solidifying Florida’s role at the forefront of the new space era.

The transformation of SLC-37 would mark not just an expansion for SpaceX, but a significant impact on Brevard County and a shift in U.S. launch infrastructure to support a growing commercial and government space economy.

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