SpaceX is moving ahead with plans to upgrade a launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which will serve as a backup to the Kennedy Space Center pad the company currently uses to launch cargo and crews to space.

During a press briefing last week, Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX’s vice president for build and flight reliability, said that the company is preparing for the upgrades needed for Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) to prepare it for upcoming cargo and crew launches, Space News reported.

At first, the company will only launch cargo missions from SLC-40, but it plans to add crew missions later.

SpaceX is leasing Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and it uses the facility to launch crew and cargo missions to the ISS.

The private space company is also working towards the inaugural launch of its super heavy-lift Starship rocket from its launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas, with company CEO Elon Musk recently claiming that it could fly as early as November. .

Accordingly, SpaceX will upgrade the pad at Cape Canaveral, but Gerstenmaier says the company won’t bring Starship to Kennedy until it’s ready for prime time.