SpaceX Builds $250M Gigabay at Starbase to Mass-Produce

SpaceX is transforming the future of space travel by scaling Starship production to industrial levels at its Starbase facility in Texas. The company’s new Gigabay, a $250 million, 700,000-square-foot megafactory, is designed to produce up to 1,000 reusable Starships per year by the end of the decade. Elon Musk recently amplified excitement by suggesting production could eventually reach 10,000 ships annually.

The Gigabay: Engineering Marvel at Starbase

Construction on the Gigabay kicked off in mid-2025 and is targeted for completion by December 2026. This enormous vertical integration hub will redefine rocket manufacturing.

Key specifications:

• 700,000 to 815,000 square feet of workspace
• Approximately 380 feet tall, with 46.5 million cubic feet of interior volume
• 24-30 specialized work cells for Starship and Super Heavy booster assembly and refurbishment
• High-capacity cranes lifting up to 400 tons
• Over 11 times the workspace of current Megabay structures at Starbase

Musk has called it the birthplace of “so many spaceships,” marking Starbase’s evolution into a high-volume production center.

Scaling Production: From 1,000 to Potentially 10,000 Starships Per Year

The Gigabay’s core goal is enabling 1,000 Starships annually, a feat that would make reusable rockets as routine as aircraft production. This supports rapid turnaround times and frequent launches.

On January 4, 2026, Musk responded to buzz about the facility, stating production could hit “massive volume” – as high as 10,000 ships per year in the long term. This aligns with treating Starships like commercial airplanes, drastically lowering costs and enabling megaton-scale payloads to orbit.

Global Impact: Enabling Humanity’s Multiplanetary Future

Mass-producing Starship is pivotal for SpaceX’s ambitions:

• Supporting NASA’s Artemis program with lunar missions
• Expanding massive Starlink internet constellations
• Pioneering point-to-point travel on Earth
• Establishing a self-sustaining city on Mars

With thousands of Starships, interplanetary flight becomes affordable, turning ambitious dreams into everyday reality.

Construction Update and Expansion Plans

As of early 2026, the Gigabay is progressing swiftly, with tower cranes erected and structural work advancing. A parallel Gigabay in Florida will further multiply capacity.

SpaceX is shifting Starbase from a testing ground to the world’s premier rocket production hub.

Follow the latest on SpaceX developments, Starship production milestones, Elon Musk updates, and Gigabay progress as we edge closer to a new era in space exploration.