SpaceX is pursuing a 32-mile natural-gas pipeline in Brevard County to connect its Cape Canaveral facilities with the Florida Gas Transmission network, a system jointly owned by Kinder Morgan and Energy Transfer.
The Florida Public Service Commission approved a transportation tariff for Coastal Connect Services, a SpaceX subsidiary, on Oct. 6, according to The Motley Fool. The approval allows the company to move forward with the proposed connection to its Cape Canaveral site.
SpaceX plans to build and own the pipeline. The company currently relies on hundreds of truck deliveries of liquefied natural gas, which is largely methane, for Starship launches. Starship's Raptor engines use liquid methane and liquid oxygen.
The proposed connection would supply natural gas to on-site chillers and liquefaction facilities as SpaceX seeks to increase Starship launch activity from Cape Canaveral, reducing its reliance on LNG truck deliveries.
The Florida Gas Transmission system spans roughly 5,300 miles. For Kinder Morgan and Energy Transfer, the SpaceX connection is an interconnection and offtake arrangement rather than a company-funded construction project, The Motley Fool reported. The source characterized it as small relative to the companies' broader pipeline networks and volumes.
