SpaceX Plans To Expand Rocket Refurbishing Facilities In Florida

American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX is reportedly looking at expanding its facilities in Florida. The privately owned rocket company wants the space to refurbish and store its reusable rocket boosters, as it increases the rate of the launches carried out.

According to Deccan Chronicle, SpaceX that is operated by entrepreneur Elon Musk has proposed the construction of a 6,245-square-meter hangar, which is going to be located to the south of its Cape Canaveral launch sites. The hangar will be used for the recovered Falcon boosters ready for reflight.

Meanwhile, the old Spacehab building will be used for rocket storage and office purposes, as well as for keeping the equipment that is at present kept at the dock, where the company’s floating land pad returns from sea. The new lease is going to be for 2.2 acres of empty land next to the Spacehab building.

"Right now, we have that work dispersed at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. This will allow us to consolidate and work more efficiently," SpaceX spokesperson John Taylor said, as The New York Times reported.

Incidentally, there are two launch sites operated in Florida by SpaceX. However, one of them is not used after the September 2016 accident that saw the destruction of a $62 million rocket as well as a $200 million communications satellite. The disaster caused a heavy damage to the launch pad in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and currently, repairs are underway on the same. SpaceX expects the launch pad to be usable from later this year.

The preparation for SpaceX’s third flight of the year is also currently underway, and its third launch in just a duration of 9 days will take place this Sunday. Since the company launched its first Falcon rocket two years ago, in 2015, it has successfully returned boosters 12 more times on drone barges on a launching pad on the ground or floating in the ocean.