SpaceX Files Permit for "Project Ignition" Starship Test Complex at Kennedy Space Center

SpaceX plans to build a dedicated Starship testing site at Kennedy Space Center, according to a new permit that outlines a 101-acre development called "Project Ignition." The facility would extend the company's Roberts Road operations and support static fire testing of the Starship rocket, work currently performed only in Texas.

The permit, filed with the St. Johns River Water Management District, describes a request to develop land located near SpaceX's existing facilities just beyond the gates at Kennedy Space Center, south of Schwartz Road. SpaceX currently launches Starship only from Starbase, Texas, but the first Florida launch could come as soon as the end of the year from either Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center or Launch Complex 37 in Cape Canaveral.

The proposed development would include a static test stand and associated infrastructure. One document states the site would "verify post-production testing of Starship and to support static fire tests." The operations described are similar to those already conducted at Starbase in Texas.

SpaceX already has its "Gigabay" coming online at the Roberts Road site. That structure will be used to stack and prepare the 232-foot-tall Super Heavy boosters, the lower stages of the launch system, before Florida launches.

The Starship system, planned to eventually be fully reusable, is tapped to support missions beyond SpaceX's own ambitions, including NASA's Artemis return to the moon. SpaceX will provide the Starship Human Landing System for the upcoming Artemis moon landing. That vehicle will be launched on Starship and dock with the Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit. A modified Starship will dock with Orion in orbit next year during the Artemis III mission, a test before the actual moon landing.

The permit signals that SpaceX intends to expand its Starship footprint in Florida beyond launch pads alone, adding testing capability that has until now existed only in Texas. The documents show the company plans to extend its Roberts Road Facility further to support upcoming Starship launches from Kennedy Space Center.

The timing and next steps of the "Project Ignition" development will depend on the permitting process with the St. Johns River Water Management District. The first Florida Starship launch could occur as soon as the end of the year from Pad 39A or Launch Complex 37, with the Artemis III docking test set for next year.