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 (Hawthorne, CA, US) appears to be making some great strides in the development of its Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) project. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced April 16 via Twitter that the vessel will be built at a new Space X facility in the Port of Los Angeles, CA, US. Just a few days later the Los Angeles Times reported the facility’s formal approval by the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners as it unanimously voted on April 19 for a permit allowing SpaceX to build its BFR development facility at the Port of LA.

SpaceX director of construction and real estate Bruce McHugh stated during the board meeting that SpaceX is planning a two-phase site construction. In phase-one an 80,000 ft² hangar-style building would be built, which would be expanded to a 200,000 ft² facility in phase-two. He estimated that rocket production could begin in 2-3 years.

 

The announcement comes just a week after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk teased an image of the “main body tool” – a giant mandrel – for the BFR with a Tesla Model 3 parked next to it for scale. The post led to much speculation, but it’s safe to say the carbon fiber body of the BFR interplanetary spaceship would be built around the mold.