Jan. 22
SAN PEDRO- As previously reported by the Los Angeles Times, in a reversal of plans SpaceX has chosen not to build its Mars spaceship and rocket booster system at the Port of Los Angeles. The tech company will instead build and test the prototype in south Texas.
In a statement this week, the company said the decision was made to “streamline operations.”
SpaceX completed assembly of a prototype of the Starship hopper vehicle at its Boca Chica facility in south Texas. The company plans to conduct tests at that facility in which the prototype will launch and go up in the air briefly before returning to Earth.
SpaceX leased about eight acres at the Port of L.A. that it used for recovery of Falcon 9 first-stage boosters and Dragon capsules, which arrive at shore via drone ships. A new deal which was approved last year, would have given SpaceX use of a 19-acre site on Terminal Island. SpaceX was to have an initial 10-year lease at the port with two additional 10-year extension options.
The move happened right after SpaceX announced that it would lay off about 10 percent of the company’s more than 6,000 employees.