SpaceX Gigabay set to build 1,000 Starships each year

Starbase, Texas is getting a major upgrade. SpaceX is building the Gigabay, a facility made for making Starships faster and cheaper. The goal is to build up to 1,000 rockets each year by the end of this decade. Elon Musk wants Starbase to become the place where future spaceships begin their journey.​

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Gigabay facility plans

SpaceX is spending $250 million on the Gigabay. The building will cover about 700,000 to 815,000 square feet. It will stand roughly 380 feet tall and hold nearly 46.5 million cubic feet inside.

Work started in July 2025. SpaceX wants everything done by December 2026. Workers have already placed four tall cranes on the site. When it opens, Gigabay will offer 24 to 30 work cells. Teams can build and repair Starships along with Super Heavy boosters all at once. Inside, the cranes can lift up to 400 tons.​

Gigabay versus old Megabay

This new building outmatches earlier Megabay facilities by a long shot. Gigabay provides more than ten times the space. It can hold up to six rockets in five rows. The factory has both ground platforms and overhead office space, helping different teams work at the same time. Each cell boosts how quickly engineers can build and repair rockets. SpaceX plans to use a Florida facility too. Before both sites reach full speed, Texas may ship rockets by barge to Florida.​

Pad upgrades to support Starship V3

SpaceX closed Pad 1 in October 2025 and started improvements. Plans include a flame trench and a better launch mount. These changes prepare Starbase for future rockets such as the Starship V3. Upgrades help keep up with new rocket versions and faster launch schedules.​

Starship is at the heart of SpaceX’s plan for flights to Mars and the Moon. Each rocket is built to carry up to 150 tons to low Earth orbit or 250 tons if it’s expendable. It uses Super Heavy for launch and advanced Raptor engines. More than 11 test flights have been completed, with engineers improving rocket landings and recovery each time.​

NASA contract and Mars aspirations

NASA picked Starship to carry astronauts for the Artemis lunar missions. Still, some experts question whether SpaceX will hit a 2027 launch date. Musk thinks a crewed mission to Mars could happen by 2030, though he says the chance is “50-50” for now.​

Gigabay will let SpaceX build up to 20 prototypes at once. This speeds up work and can cut costs for each rocket. Musk believes Gigabay will help make Starbase a full production center instead of just a test site.​

Elon Musk summed it up: “‘So many spaceships’ will be born at the Starbase Gigabay.” SpaceX’s vision for Gigabay is simple, produce more rockets, send more missions, and turn travel to orbit, the Moon, and Mars into a regular event.