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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – Long before SpaceX can send its spacecraft to the Moon or Mars, a spacecraft prototype must be moved from its construction site in Cocoa to the Kennedy Space Center for testing.
SpaceX representatives refused to answer News 6's questions about how the private company will transport the spacecraft more than 20 miles (20 miles) between the two facilities or when the move will take place.
However, information obtained exclusively by News 6 reveals that in September, the 180-foot spacecraft could be towed along State Road 528 Beachline Expressway before being placed on a barge in Indian River in order to his expedition to Launch Complex 39.
Freight forwarding company Roll-Lift USA recently applied for a permit from the Florida Department of Transportation seeking to transfer a "tank" to KSC over a two-week period in September.
A diagram attached to the application indicates that the cargo is the SpaceX Starship, which is currently constructed in several segments at a steel facility located on Cidco Road in Cocoa.
Another Starship prototype is also being tested at facilities in Boca Chica, Texas. The "Hopper" spacecraft recently launched its engines during the first test last month. Another jump test could be held this week, according to Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX.
According to state records, the Cocoa Starship prototype will be transported on vacant land just south of Coastal Steel to Grissom Parkway on a truck and 15-axle trailer.
After traveling approximately one kilometer east on Grissom Parkway, the spacecraft will be towed south on Industry Road towards the Beachline Expressway, according to the records.
News 6 have recently seen power crews draw power lines higher up the road along the proposed 16-story spacecraft road.
While law enforcement forces have temporarily closed several roads and interchanges in the area, records indicate that Starship will be traveling eastward in the westbound lanes of the 528 SR for nearly 3 km.
After crossing US 1, the satellite will leave SR 528 on a small, unnamed island in the Indian River that serves as an easement on the expressway.
[READ: Report details Starship launch, landing plan at Kennedy Space Center]
According to the permit application, a barge pulled by two tugs will be moored along an existing dyke. Winch trucks parked nearby will secure the barge using mooring lines.
The prototype spacecraft will be rolled over the barge over a carpet designed to protect the ground, state archives say.
The freight company will be responsible for any damage to the dyke or other state-owned property as per the permit application, and a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation has confirmed that no charges will be incurred. agency would be spent on the project.
Once secure on a barge, the information obtained by News 6 suggests that Starship could be transported from the Indian River to the Banana River via the Canaveral barge, then by a 15-mile cruise north of KSC.
Starship will enter the Kennedy Space Center by water alongside the Vehicle Assembly Building and Launchpad 39A, according to a recent environmental impact report by NASA.
This so-called "turning basin" is the place where other large rocket components arrived at KSC by barge, including the outer fuel tanks of the space shuttle built in Louisiana.
At 180 feet tall, Starship will be slightly larger and wider than the shuttle's orange fuel tanks.
SpaceX has not revealed the type of flight tests that the spacecraft prototype will undergo once at the Kennedy Space Center.
In a tweet last month, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said the two prototypes of the spacecraft may be ready to "fly" in September or October.
Hans Koenigmann, vice president of SpaceX's insurance mission, said Monday at a forum of the US Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics that SpaceX was planning "jumps" more progressive on the Boca Chica site and planned to fly a spacecraft "as soon as possible". But he hesitated to set a definitive date at the end.
"They work as fast as they can, but I still do not know," said Koenigmann.
Musk announced that SpaceX would provide an update for the Starship program on Saturday.
In the end, SpaceX plans to ride Starship at the top of a large rocket called Super Heavy, powered by 31 Raptor engineers, creating a 400-foot-tall spacecraft. It is SpaceX's fully reusable spacecraft, designed for spacecraft launches to the Moon and Mars.
SpaceX plans to land aboard a spacecraft in Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Air Base and Super Heavy will land aboard a drone in the area. Atlantic Ocean, several kilometers offshore.
According to the environmental impact report, SpaceX plans to launch the spacecraft about 24 times a year.
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