It&#x27;s about time. Two years ago, Space-X was talking about how they were going to produce a hundred engines a year. They have a big order backlog for Falcon 9 launches, and they are way behind.  Supposedly the bottleneck was pad time and range time at Canaveral, not production.  Opening the Brownsville facility, under the total control of Space-X, was supposed to fix that. But that&#x27;s two years behind schedule now.<p>Not clear why they&#x27;re having so much trouble with the soil at Brownsville. Sure, it&#x27;s silt and alluvium, and bedrock is a long ways down, but Houston has similar geology upon which skyscrapers have been built.[1]  The Falcon 9 doesn&#x27;t need a massive launch complex.  They currently use a solid roadbed with railroad tracks from the hangar, and a modest launch tower and flame deflector.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.beg.utexas.edu&#x2F;staffinfo&#x2F;paine-pubs&#x2F;RI259_paine.pdf" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.beg.utexas.edu&#x2F;staffinfo&#x2F;paine-pubs&#x2F;RI259_paine.p...</a>