SpaceX Planning Rocket Storage at Port Canaveral

400px-Launch_of_JunoSpaceX plans to store and refurbish rockets at Port Canaveral.

SpaceX is planning to lease a building at Port Canaveral and may build another facility.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket made its way through Cape Canaveral on June 6 from Port Canaveral and it was the fourth reusable rocket that was brought back to the Cape and is moving into storage now. The private space flight company has successfully recovered a launched rocket three times on an ocean barge floting in the Atlantic Ocean and multiple times on solid ground at its landing zone on Florida’s Space Coast.

SpaceX is currently investigating leasing rocket storage and hangar space at the port for those spent rockets, said Port Canaveral CEO John Murray during a regular board meeting last week. Murray added that Space X wants to lease one building and construct a second one at Port Canaveral. The space launch company is planning to process and refurbish its rockets at these facilities.

Space X is planning to lease the now-vacant former Spacehab building that previously belonged to an aerospace company known as Astrotech Corporation. The 52,000 square foot building is located on the north side of the port. Space X is looking to build another facility on vacant land adjacent to the first site.

A formal lease agreement with Space X may be presented to the board in a few days.