Elon Musk gave YouTuber Tim Dodd a tour of SpaceX's Starfactory rocket production center.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Elon Musk gave an early glimpse into SpaceX's new Starfactory production facility.
Just a day before Starship's Flight 4 successfully landed in the ocean, Musk was at the SpaceX site giving science YouTuber Tim Dodd, known by his channel moniker "Everyday Astronaut," an exclusive tour of SpaceX's rocket factory, including the new facility.
Located in south Texas, Starbase, which just a couple of years prior consisted mostly of tents, has now transformed into a massive facility that Musk anticipates will "dramatically improve production."
"We've got this pretty good-looking rocket factory building that we've almost completed," Musk said. "This will enable us to have serialized production of the rocket, especially the ship, which would ultimately, long term, probably be making a thousand a year of the ship."
Musk showed off various sections of the factory, including the Megabay, which holds three booster rockets. Viewers also saw a closeup of the Raptor engines that power Starship's Super Heavy booster.
Musk explained the new design of the next-gen Raptor, which will not require a heat shield but instead will have integral cooling circuits throughout the engine. "So it looks very simple on the outside, but it's complicated on the inside," Musk said.
The SpaceX CEO also took Dodd inside the brand new Starfactory, which, once completed, is expected to have multiple production stations. Musk said that the now barren site "will be filled with equipment in three months."
"We'll finally have a real factory for Starship," Musk said. "Not just making it in tents."
