Starship launching from Florida? What to know about giant rocket, explosions and 'Gigabay'

Floridians finally have the opportunity to provide some public feedback on SpaceX's plans to expand operations of its massive Starship rocket to the Sunshine State.

And unsurprisingly, residents are already expressing some of the same concerns that SpaceX opponents in Texas have long had about the spacecraft, which is being developed and tested for future human missions.

Starship has made headlines this year for a series of explosions that have occurred in 2025 after launching from SpaceX's Starbase headquarters in South Texas for uncrewed flight tests. But during the first of three scheduled public hearings on Florida's Space Coast, most of those who spoke addressed the potential environmental effects from Starship rocket launches.

The hearings come amid plans for billionaire Elon Musk's commercial spaceflight company to bring Starship production and launch capabilities to Florida potentially by the end of 2025.

Standing nearly 400 feet tall when fully stacked, Starship is due in the years ahead to play a pivotal role in the U.S. spaceflight program.

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Here's what to know about the public hearings in Florida, as well as SpaceX's future plans for Starship in the state.

Public hearings in Florida over SpaceX Starship plans: How to attend

SpaceX is seeking regulatory approval to commence conducting Starship flight tests at both the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's neighboring Kennedy Space Center.

Before approval is granted,U.S. Air Force officials are providing a chance for feedbackon potential environmental impacts from up to 76 future Starship-Super Heavy rocket systems launching per year from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Just three people spoke during the first hearing, which took place Wednesday, July 9, though dozens more were in attendance. A second hearing took place later in the day, while the third and final in-person hearing is scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 10, at theDr. Joe Lee Smith Recreation Center, 415 Stone St., Cocoa, Florida.

A virtual hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, atspaceforcestarshipeis.com.

Previous public hearings took place regarding plans for 44 potential launches from the Kennedy Space Center.

While some residents have expressed concerns about the effect Starship launches could have on the environment and local wildlife, Florida officials have estimated that the endeavor could generateat least $1.8 billion of capital investmentand about 600 new full-time jobs by 2030.

Environmental impact statements are underway for both potential launch sites.

"We want to make sure we understand the environmental impacts. But we also want to understand the economic impacts, and how we can best balance those," U.S. Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Indian Harbour Beach, told FLORIDA TODAY.

Will Starship launch in Florida?

As SpaceX breaks ground in Florida on a new Starship facility it calls "Gigabay," the company is also finalizing plans to launch the Starship spacecraft by the end of 2025 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

For SpaceX head Musk, expanding Starship operations to a second state is crucial toaccelerate the development of the vehicle.

SpaceX has long had plans in place to builda Starship launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral. The site is located at the historic launch complex 39A – the site of the U.S. space agency's Apollo moon mission launches.

SpaceX would not only equip the site to launch Starship, but to catch its Super Heavy rocket booster when it returns to the pad – as ithas done three times at Starbase.

Ultimately, though, SpaceXhas ambitious plans for the constructionof its 380-foot-tall Gigabay in Florida.

The massive building, which will be used to stack and finalize the 232-foot-tall Super Heavy boosters, or lower stages, with the Starship vehicle before flights, is under construction near SpaceX’s facility on Kennedy Space Center grounds.

What is SpaceX's Starship rocket?

Starship prepares to get off the ground Tuesday, May 27 for the first time since SpaceX last launched the world's largest rocket in March.

Starship, regarded as the world’s largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, towers over SpaceX's famousFalcon 9 rocket– one of the world's most active – which stands at nearly 230 feet.

When fully integrated, the launch system iscomposed of both a 232-foot Super Heavy rocket and the 171-foot upper stage spacecraft, or capsule where crew and cargo would ride.

Super Heavy alone is powered by 33 of SpaceX’s Raptor engines that give the initial burst of thrust at liftoff. The upper section, also called Starship or Ship for short, is the upper stage powered by six Raptor engines that will ultimately travel in orbit.

SpaceX is developingStarshipto be a fully reusable transportation system, meaning both the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions.The Starship is due to play a pivotal role in the years ahead in U.S. spaceflight asNASA eyes a return to the moonand Musk hasdreams of the first humans reachingMars.

Why does Starship keep exploding?

Eyewitness video released on Thursday (June 19) shows the moment Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship 36 exploded during testing in Brownsville, Texas, United States.

On June 18,Starship unexpectedly explodedwhile SpaceX was preparing for an upcoming flight test. No one was hurt in the incident, which occurred as the Starship spacecraft was standing alone on the test stand prior to being mounted on top of the rocket booster.

The mishap, which SpaceXlater referred to on its websiteas"a sudden energetic event," completely destroyed the spacecraft and ignited several fires that caused damage in the area surrounding the test stand.

While SpaceX is investigating the mishap, Musk said in apost on Xthat preliminary data suggested that a pressurized tank failed at the top of the rocket.

The explosion was the latest fiery mishap SpaceX's Starship has encountered during – and, now, prior to – its flight tests in 2025.

Starship's most recent demonstration came May 27 when the spacecraft spun out of control roughly halfway through its flight and disintegrated in a fireball. Though Starship was unable to achieve its most important objectives, the distance the vehicle traveledfar surpassed the previous 2025 flightsin January and March, when Starship exploded within minutes.

The company has frequently stressed that its rapid and frequent testing is expected to sometimes lead to such explosive ends, but that even failed launches can provide data that helps engineers improve Starship's design.

Contributing: Brooke Edwards, FLORIDA TODAY

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Will SpaceX Starship launch from Florida? Public invited to give input