A new document from the Port of Los Angeles indicates that SpaceX is likely moving forward with manufacturing launch vehicles, potentially the Big Fucking Rocket (BFR), near a wharf in Los Angeles.
The paper notes that the applicant, WW Marine Composites LLC, wishes to repair and utilize a vacant lot at Berth 240 near the southwestern part of Terminal Island. Though the Board of Harbor Commission approved the request earlier this month, it only recently surfaced on Reddit, prompting a deluge of curiosity.
While SpaceX is never explicitly mentioned in the document, Eric Berger writes in Ars Technica that WM Marine Composites appears to be a subsidiary of SpaceX. An anonymous source also confirmed to Berger that the site is in fact “intended for the manufacture of the BFR rocket in Los Angeles.”
The BFR ship.
SpaceX spokesperson Eva Behrend confirmed in a statement shared with the Los Angeles Times that the aerospace company was in talks with the Port about the “potential of leasing additional land for operations.” She did not elaborate on what those “operations” would be, but the documents all but confirm they’re rockets.
“The objective of the proposed project is to improve terminal facilities to accommodate the development and manufacture of specialized large commercial transportation vessels and optimize the use of existing land at the terminal to accommodate direct transportation of products via water in a manner consistent with Harbor Department’s tidelands trust obligations,” the document reads. “This facility is intended to be a state-of-the-art industrial manufacturing facility serving to develop prototypes of new technologies needed to advance the specialized deployment of transportation vehicles and develop the manufacturing processes prior to implementing production on a larger scale.”
Elon Musk has previously explained that the BFR could take an uncrewed trip to Mars as early as 2022, with a crewed mission in 2024. The company has not yet announced when it plans to start the manufacturing process.
