The next SpaceX spacecraft is under development in Texas, and CEO Elon Musk has previously revealed that the company was planning to build floating space ports for spacecraft operations, after posting a job ad looking for someone Supervising its development. Now, SpaceX has purchased two convertible rigs for this purpose, as I mentioned for the first time Michael Baylor from spaceflight.comAnd and Confirmed by CNBC.

The excavators are named Deimos and Phoibos by SpaceX, which are the names of the two moons of Mars (and the names of the gods of terror and fear in Greek mythology before that). The rigs were originally designed for drilling in deep offshore waters, up to a maximum depth of 8,500 feet. It is currently located in Brownsville, a coastal city on the Gulf of Mexico near SpaceX’s Starship development site in Brownsville, Texas.

These ships measure 240 feet by 255 feet and would, in theory, be repurposed to support the launch of the spacecraft (and possibly a landing return, given its reusable design). So far, SpaceX has been launching and landing its prototype spacecraft on Earth at the Boca Chica site, although it has only made low-altitude flights so far. The company also operates two unmanned ships, 300 feet long and about 170 feet wide, as independent floating landing pads for its existing Falcon 9 missile boosters.

SpaceX has also posted another ad seeking a resort development manager to transform its South Texas facility into a “21st Century Space Port”, specifically looking for someone with resort experience. Meanwhile, musk He confirmed that he moved to Texas last December, After a number of public suggestions that it would do so in part due to California’s taxation and regulatory environment.

Musk’s other Tesla subsidiary also chose Austin as the location for its upcoming mega-plant in the US, which aims to assemble the Cybertruck, Model Y and Tesla Semi, as well as Model 3 cars intended for customers on the East Coast. SpaceX maintained engine testing facilities in McGreger, Texas, and established Boca Chica as one of the two Starship development sites alongside Florida, before making the South Texas site the only focus for building and testing that spacecraft after joining forces.