The SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Credit: Photo via Shutterstock

Approved by Space Florida in December, what has been known as Project Hinton was announced this week as the new Starship operations headquarters for SpaceX.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office said billionaire Elon Musk’s company will build launch and landing facilities for the Starship launch vehicle — designed to eventually provide millions of tons of payload to Mars — at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

SpaceX said testing and design of the vehicle will continue in Texas.

“Florida is the present and future of the space industry with leading space companies —like SpaceX —investing in the Free State of Florida,” DeSantis said Monday night in a prepared statement.

In December, members of the Space Florida Board of Directors agreed to negotiate providing up to $65 million toward an anticipated expansion of the then-unidentified company.

The state money would be spread out from what is known as the Spaceport Improvement Program over several years. It would include a match of up to $50 million for a “high-volume production facility, high bay, and related infrastructure,” and up to $15 million for utility improvements that include industrial wastewater treatment.

In return, the state expected at least $1.8 billion of SpaceX capital investment, along with the creation of 600 jobs that carry an estimated average annual wage of $93,000.

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This article appears in Feb 27 – Mar 5, 2025.