SpaceX Is Building A New $250 Million Facility In South Texas

SpaceX is doubling down on its interplanetary ambitions with a massive new investment. The company, led by Elon Musk, is injecting $250 million into a colossal new facility called “Gigabay” at its Starbase launch site in South Texas.

According to filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), the new Gigabay will be a 700,000-square-foot industrial facility designed specifically for advanced manufacturing. The project is slated to begin construction on July 1 and is expected to be complete by late 2026. Dallas-based firm HDR is handling the design, continuing a trend of large-scale developments at the site.

This isn’t the only new construction effort on the horizon. The Gigabay announcement follows plans for a $22 million community building, also at Starbase, first revealed in May. Together, these developments are transforming the region into a full-fledged launch and production hub.

The latest expansion was hinted at earlier this year when Elon Musk shared a bold vision for Starship production: “We’re aiming to build about three Starships a day,” he reportedly said during a May presentation on X (formerly Twitter). That ambitious pace would mean manufacturing up to 1,000 Starships annually—a critical scale-up required to support Musk’s long-term Mars mission strategy.

But Gigabay isn’t limited to Texas. A second facility of the same name is under development at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, also set for completion by 2026. According to SpaceX’s March update, that building will stand 380 feet tall and feature 24 work cells for integration and refurbishment, along with cranes capable of lifting 400 tons. It will also include an elevated platform and workspace for engineering and operational teams.

SpaceX emphasized the strategic importance of these dual-coast facilities, stating: “With production, integration, refurbishment, and launch facilities in Florida as well as Texas, we will be in a position to quickly ramp Starship’s launch rate via rapid reusability.”

Yet while the infrastructure is rising fast, operational hurdles remain. The Starship program has faced multiple setbacks in recent months. Though regulatory approval was granted for 25 annual launches from Texas, the last three Starship tests have all failed. Adding to the challenges, one vehicle exploded on a test stand, and a crane collapsed shortly afterward, prompting an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).