Dave Berman, and James Dean

Florida Today

SpaceX is moving some of its operations to Port Canaveral, port Chief Executive Officer John Murray said Wednesday.

The space launch company plans to lease the now-vacant former Spacehab building on the north side of the port, and is looking at constructing a second building on vacant land adjacent to that site, Murray told port commissioners.

SpaceX is expected to process and refurbish rockets, as well as potentially perform other functions, at the port, Murray said.

“We’re happy to announce that they’re onboard,” he said. “It’s good for the port, it’s good for the community, and it's a high-visibility project. So we’re really excited about that. They're a great client to have on our port. It's a win-win for everybody."

A formal lease agreement with SpaceX could come before port commissioners for approval as early as next month. In the meantime, Murray said SpaceX plans to move into the 52,000-square-foot former Spacehab building through a temporary property-use permit between the company and the port.

SpaceX Falcon 9 launches satellite, sticks ocean landing

SpaceX said that permit would help it assess the former Spacehab payload processing facility's fit for its operations.

"We are pleased to have been granted temporary use of this facility to give us time to evaluate the building's suitability to support SpaceX’s business in Florida on a longer-term basis,” SpaceX spokesman John Taylor said.

SpaceX operates two launch pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center, but has needed more room since it began landing Falcon 9 rocket boosters in December.

The first stages of six rockets launched from the Cape have been recovered, including four landed on ships in the Atlantic Ocean that returned to the port.

“With SpaceX’s recent progress in recovering first stage Falcon 9 boosters, we’re looking to expand our facilities on the Space Coast to support rocket refurbishment," Taylor told FLORIDA TODAY earlier this month.

Murray said SpaceX's "rapidly expanding" operations and upcoming "very aggressive" launch schedule were factors in the company deciding to expand onto port property.

Details about how many people will work at SpaceX’s Port Canaveral facilities and other specific tasks they'll perform there have not been announced.

Port Authority Vice Chair Wayne Justice said he “couldn’t be more excited” to hear that SpaceX will become a tenant at Port Canaveral.

"This is great for us,” Justice said. "It’s like a shot of adrenaline. It’s that exciting.”

Port Commissioner Bruce Deardoff said he expects the lease agreement with SpaceX to also include resolving concerns SpaceX recently raised related to a proposed $15,000 fee each time a 30-ton rocket booster returns there.

SpaceX's next Cape rocket launch and water landing attempt tentatively are targeted for early Sept. 3, a mission launching the AMOS-6 communications satellite for Israeli company Spacecom.

Contact Berman at 321-242-3649 or dberman@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @bydaveberman

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