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SpaceX plans huge expansion for Floridan Falcon refurbishment facilities
According to an environmental assessment published in April 2018, SpaceX aims to build a dedicated facility for storing, refurbishing and decommissioning Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters and payload fairings “immediately” after construction approvals are granted.
New Falcon 9 and Heavy refurbishment/storage center will be built in Florida
This facility would give SpaceX some 50 acres of land and 130,000 square feet (12,300 m^2) of floor space for the sole purpose of refurbishing and storing flight-proven Falcon 9 and Heavy boosters, as well as the rockets’ payload fairings after successful recoveries begin. If additional storage space proved necessary (and it probably will), another 100,000 ft^2 (9300 m^2) building would be constructed.
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- Falcon Heavy rolls out from SpaceX’s largest current booster storage and preparation facility, LC-39A. (SpaceX)
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- The first-ever Falcon Heavy (sans payload and fairing) shown inside Pad 39A’s horizontal integration facility (HIF). (SpaceX)
As of today, SpaceX likely has room to store 6-8 Falcon boosters at or near their Florida launch pads, with the bulk of that storage coming from the company’s 50,000 ft^2 (4500 m^2) LC-39A horizontal integration facility (HIF), capable of housing four rocket boosters. As such, an additional 150,000+ ft^2 could nearly quadruple SpaceX’s booster storage and refurbishment capabilities, all while locating that expansion on a single, easily-accessible lot within close reach of both LC-40 and LC-39A launch pads.
Put more simply, the addition of this new Kennedy Space Center facility would hugely benefit SpaceX’s ability to launch, land, and re-launch its reusable rockets as rapidly as possible, and would enable the simultaneous storage and refurbishment of as many as 16-20 Falcon 9/Heavy boosters and at least a dozen payload fairing halves. If even more capacity is required, nearly half of lot SpaceX wants to lease would be untouched and give the company another 30 acres of land to expand into as launch cadence ramps or BFR prepares for its first launches from Florida.
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- An overview of SpaceX’s prospective KSC facility and nearby landmarks. (SpaceX)
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- A SpaceX render of what the complex might look like once completed. (SpaceX)
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- As described in the environmental assessment, more than half of the lot would be free for future expansion. (SpaceX)
60+ annual launches, rocket ‘gardens’, and a wacky control tower
According to comments in the April 2018 assessment, the readiness of these new storage and refurbishment facilities could potentially pave the way for – as early as 2020 – more than 60 annual Falcon 9 and Heavy launches from the company’s two Florida launch pads a number which doesn’t even include SpaceX’s California launch site, nor its prospective Texas launch facilities. In order to support ambitious Florida-specific launch rates, SpaceX also intends to construct a 300-foot tall Launch and Landing Control Center (LLCC) pulled straight from a Bond villain’s lair on the new property.
The [LLCC] is envisioned to be world-class, architecturally distinctive, and equipped for satellite, cargo, and crew missions.
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- SpaceX’s proposed Launch and Landing Control Center (LLCC). The Bond villain is strong with this one… (SpaceX)
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- Satellite imagery from Google Maps shows the currently-abandoned site of SpaceX’s prospective Florida expansion. (Google Maps)
Distinctive is certainly a good way to describe the proposed control center. Not to be outdone, SpaceX also included plans for its own private rocket garden, essentially an elegant graveyard for decommissioned or uniquely historic Falcon 9 and Heavy rocket boosters and fairings, as well as Dragon spacecraft. Perhaps there will be room for pathfinder Mars rockets and spaceships in the future… With any luck, both the control center and proposed rocket garden are intended to be at least partially open to the public, something that would undoubtedly be a huge hit while also awkwardly competing with Kennedy Space Center’s Visitor Center, which features its own rocket garden less than a mile away.
Although BFR and Mars were never mentioned specifically, something SpaceX appears to have been quite stringent about over the last several months, the environmental assessment also briefly mentioned future uses for the same facility that might include “new launch vehicle” developments, perhaps requiring a four-lane expansion of the adjacent Robert’s Road somewhere down the line.
BFR heads to orbit in an updated overview of the Mars rocket. (SpaceX)
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SpaceX nails “Lucky 13” astronaut launch, leaning into Tesla tradition and superstition
SpaceX launched Crew-13 astronauts to the ISS Thursday, setting up a record fast Dragon docking.
SpaceX launched NASA’s Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station on Thursday morning, getting four astronauts to orbit despite a forecast of thunderstorms and gusty winds that had threatened to push the flight to Friday.
Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 11:10 a.m. ET carrying Dragon Grace, NASA confirmed. On board are NASA commander Jessica Watkins, NASA pilot Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. The first stage booster, B1101, landed at Landing Zone 40 beside the pad on its third flight after previously supporting Crew-12 and a Starlink mission.
Liftoff of Crew-13! pic.twitter.com/vteT0DXMTh
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 1, 2026
It was the first spaceflight for Delaney, Kutryk and Teteryatnikov. Watkins, who flew on Crew-4 in 2022, became the first NASA astronaut to launch aboard a Crew Dragon twice.
Before launch, the crew rode to the pad in Teslas, a tradition on NASA’s SpaceX crew flights since 2020. This time the cars carried specialty plates reading “Lucky 13.” Watkins said the mission patch leans into the number on purpose, as a nod to Apollo 13 and the resilience of that crew.
Grace is now on a short trip to the station. Docking at the forward port of the Harmony module is scheduled for about 7 p.m. ET, roughly 7 hours and 50 minutes after liftoff, which Space.com notes would be the fastest Crew Dragon transit to the ISS yet. Most Dragon flights take around 15 to 24 hours to catch the station. Hatch opening is planned for 8:25 p.m. ET.
The launch came more than two weeks later than originally planned. An oxidizer leak was found in Grace’s propulsion system in August, and NASA and SpaceX added time for tests. That pushed back the return of Crew-12, which has been aboard the station since February and is now set to splash down off Southern California next week. Crew-13 is expected to stay about six months.
SpaceX rescue mission for stranded ISS astronauts nears end — Here’s when they’ll return home
SpaceX already holds NASA orders for crew rotations through Crew-17, while Boeing is preparing an uncrewed Starliner flight to the station as early as December.
Crew-13 was only the first of three SpaceX launches planned for Thursday, as Teslarati previewed on Wednesday. A Falcon 9 launched its Transporter-18 mission from California today, where Google will be launching its first orbital artificial intelligence (AI) test satellite. Meanwhile, Falcon Heavy is set to launch the classified NROL-97 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office from Launch Complex 39A at 11:53 p.m. ET. Its two side boosters will return to Landing Zones 1 and 2, which means Central Florida could hear up to three sonic booms in a single day. The busy stretch follows Starship’s Flight 14 on Monday, which reached orbit for the first time.
Tesla has moved its Wireless Charging efforts for its electric vehicles forward, as it had a new patent published today, one that it submitted back in March.
The patent describes a system for detecting foreign objects on the wireless charging pad under varying temperatures, aiming to mitigate any undesired results that could come from something being on top of the charging pad.
🚨 Tesla has a new patent application published today, which was submitted back in March, for a Wireless Charging Pad:
“The present disclosure relates to methods and systems that can reliably detect foreign objects on a wireless charging pad under varying temperatures. In some… pic.twitter.com/LIeLfZAuDJ
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 1, 2026
The abstract of the patent states:
“The present disclosure relates to methods and systems that can reliably detect foreign objects on a wireless charging pad under varying temperatures. In some examples, an object detector can utilize a set of inductive coils included in resonant tanks, and excite the resonant tanks using signals in a range of frequencies including or near a nominal resonant frequency of the resonant tanks. The object detector can detect a metal object based on resistance of a coil increasing and inductance of the coil decreasing. By analyzing the shifts and/or distributions in resonant frequencies and output magnitudes (e.g., output voltage peaks), the object detector can distinguish between changes of frequencies and magnitudes caused by temperature and those caused by foreign objects to accurately detect the foreign objects.”
The object detection system will utilize a set of inductive coils included in resonant tanks, and “excite the resonant tank using signals in a range of frequencies including or near a nominal resonant frequency of the tanks.” Metal can be detected by an increase in the coil’s resistance and a decrease in the coil’s inductance.
By analyzing shifts or disruptions in resonant frequencies and output magnitudes, the system can detect foreign objects. These types of safeguards need to be implemented through the normal operation of the charging pads.
Tesla says its Cybercab wireless charging efficiency is ‘well above 90%’
Tesla plans to utilize wireless charging with Cybercab and Robotaxi-enabled units to help streamline the fully autonomous experience from A to Z. The last thing the company wants to do is have any sort of small obstruction preventing the rider from experiencing Robotaxi as intended.
Tesla has launched its newest iteration of the Model 3 in China with a slew of new features, including the highly requested V2L (vehicle-to-load) feature and a new interior option.
The Model 3 now has a 16″ front touchscreen with improved resolution, a black headliner, V2L capabilities, Zen Grey interior in the Premium and Performance trims, as the White option has officially been discontinued, and 19″ Dark Nova Wheels, which are standard on the Model 3 Premium only.
🚨 Tesla has launched the Model 3 in China with a variety of new features and specs:
✅ 16” front touchscreen
✅ Black Headliner
✅ V2L Capability
✅ Zen Grey interior (Premium & Performance only)
✅ 19” Dark Nova wheels (Model 3 Premium only)
✅ Zen Grey Interior option… pic.twitter.com/ltTAEIYi2Z— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 1, 2026
The touchscreen in the U.S. version of the Model 3 is just 15.4″, so the newly upgraded screen is .6″ larger. Additionally, the Black Headliner, now standard on Model Y vehicles in the U.S., is coming to China.
Additionally, Tesla’s decision to end the white interior option has also made its way to the Asian market, as Zen Grey is the lighter color consumers can now go with. It is slightly different from the previously offered White option:
These options are available in China, Australia, and New Zealand as well, as Giga Shanghai serves those markets, bringing its mass-market vehicles to those countries in the South Pacific.
The Model 3 trims are now priced at:
- Rear-Wheel-Drive – 235,500 yuan (~$35,000)
- Long Range Rear-Wheel-Drive – 259,500 yuan ($38,700)
- Long Range All-Wheel-Drive – 285,500 yuan (~$42,600)
- Performance – 339,500 yuan (~$50,600)
These features have yet to make their way to the U.S., which might upset some buyers, but it is probably a good sign that Tesla will bring these changes to U.S. trims sometime next year. Potentially, these could come even sooner, as they could be used to stimulate demand for the year-end sales push.
Nevertheless, when things start at Giga Shanghai, they usually end up in the U.S. market. Tesla has also already started to install things like the Black Headliner and larger touchscreen in certain U.S.-built vehicles, so these things will be easy to implement across other vehicles in the lineup.
SpaceX nails “Lucky 13” astronaut launch, leaning into Tesla tradition and superstition
Tesla moves forward on Wireless Charging for vehicles
