5.05.2026
After years of behind-the-scenes planning, All Points Logistics has secured a 64-acre lease from NASA to construct more than a half-million square feet of spacecraft pre-launch processing facilities at Kennedy Space Center.
The Merritt Island aerospace-logistics company hopes to break ground for construction in fall, President and CEO Phil Monkress said. If all goes smoothly, a logistics facility may open in late 2027, followed by a 200-foot-tall processing facility in early 2028.
Here's why it matters: Monkress said demand to assemble, integrate, fuel and test satellites and spacecraft is now "even more than we even imagined." He cited NASA's new goal to construct a base on the moon's surface and President Donald Trump's Golden Dome missile-defense system.
"One of the main things I kept hearing from all kinds of customers: You need more payload processing facilities. That, and office space," KSC Director Janet Petro said during a lease-signing event last month at the 41st Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
All Points' privately financed multi-user spacecraft processing complex is slated for construction about one mile south of the Vehicle Assembly Building, on Schwarz Road near Kennedy Parkway.
The logistics complex will support commercial, civil and national security space missions.
"We've been pounding on the desk for years that this needs to happen. Unfortunately, it's taken this long to get to this point. But now, here we are. And now we're having to move as quick as possible to try to meet the schedules, the missions for what we're trying to accomplish for the space industry and for our government," Monkress said.
"Those two go hand in hand. This is just the betterment of the human race as a whole, right? This is (establishing) ourselves on the moon, and then further on into interplanetary and deep-space exploration. We're excited because we feel like this is the grassroots part of it right here," he said.
"Getting off the ground of Earth? That's probably the toughest part," he said.
Complex to support commercial, NASA and national security
Monkress said 50 to 100 people may work at the complex, including All Points employees and mission-specific workers. Plans call for:
- A 275,000-square-foot payload processing facility with high bays, airlocks, cranes and blastproof fueling bays.
- A 266,000-square-foot multi-tenant logistics building with cleanrooms, offices, warehouse space, control rooms and assembly areas for companies to process small- and and medium-sized spacecraft.
During a January 2025 FLORIDA TODAY interview, Monkress said the KSC complex may cost more than $400 million to develop. He declined to divulge cost figures or information on All Points clients for this story, citing the market’s competitive nature.
All Points finished processing three Exolaunch spacecraft — included fueling, packaging and delivery — in October 2025 ahead of launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. All Points previously announced partnerships with Quantum Space, Leidos, Vaya Space and Sierra Space during the past two years.
Next, Monkress said company officials will spend the next three to five months securing permitting before site work can begin at KSC. He declined to provide details on the company's pursuit to also build a spacecraft-processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Air Force official tours Cape launch infrastructure
On April 16, Michael Borders, Air Force assistant secretary for energy, installations and environment, toured key infrastructure sites at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station — particularly projects that are underway to expand launch capacity on the Eastern Range.
"The focus on infrastructure improvement at CCSFS is critical because the rate of orbital launches from the U.S. Space Force’s Eastern Range has increased 354 percent since 2019. This growth pushes legacy infrastructure to its limits," a Space Launch Delta 45 press release said.
"The number of annual launches from CCSFS and Kennedy Space Center rose from 24 in 2019 to 109 in 2025, with forecasted growth throughout the 2040s. This accelerated operational tempo requires a coordinated modernization of the spaceport’s physical capacity and capabilities," the press release said.
Quelle: Florida Today