SpaceX, the rocket company owned by billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, received formal approval Saturday, May 3, to incorporate a new city in South Texas dubbed Starbase. The approval came from voters, roughly 283 of whom live in the area and are believed to be mostly workers of the interstellar company-turned-town, according to the Associated Press.
Of those 283 eligible voters, 212 cast a ballot in favor of incorporating the City of Starbase, while six voted against the measure, results from the Cameron County Elections Department show.
Why does SpaceX want to incorporate Starbase?
SpaceX, which has contracts with both the U.S. Department of Defense and NASA, conducts its rocket launches from Starbase, a plot of land near the U.S.-Mexico border that’s roughly 1.5 square miles. The site also doubles as a facility for the company.
Musk’s goal is to fly astronauts to the moon and eventually Mars. However, in order to do that, his company claims it needs greater control over the area.
SpaceX is asking for the authority to intermittently close a local highway, as well as a state beach and an adjoining park, to “streamline launch operations,” the AP notes, increase its rocket launches, engine tests and move equipment around the base more freely.
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SpaceX launches create a sonic boom that’s 125 decibels, or a gunshot at close range, according to sound tests.
That authority currently sits with the county government, not all of whom are onboard with the proposed changes, which could impact the area’s wider population. For instance, Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. cites the county’s history of working with SpaceX and said there is no need for change.
Now that it’s an official town, Starbase will elect its own mayor and city council. Those entities would be in charge of closing the public spaces and local highway when it’s deemed necessary. Companion bills to its incorporation effort are in the Texas Legislature to make that happen.
While the company hasn’t elaborated on the necessity for its town to be incorporated, Starbase General Manager Kathryn Lueders wrote in a 2024 request to be on Saturday’s ballot, “We need the ability to grow Starbase as a community.” The letter added that SpaceX currently manages some of the area’s infrastructure, such as roads and utilities, and administers schooling and medical care for those living on Starbase.
SpaceX did not respond to the AP’s emailed requests for comment.
Local residents push back
Lueders may want to grow the Starbase community, but the community that already exists in the area isn’t as thrilled. Local mother Josette Hinojosa told the AP of the beach and park, “Some days it’s closed, and some days you get turned away.”
Should another proposed bill pass, failure to comply with an order to evacuate the beach could carry up to 180 days in jail.
On Saturday, Hinojosa attended a protest against Starbase’s incorporation, organized by the South Texas Environmental Justice Network. Christopher Basaldú, a member of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas tribe was also at the protest and cited his ancestors’ long-established presence in the area along the U.S.-Mexico border.
According to Basaldú, preserving the region is “not just important, it’s sacred.”
Despite Basaldú and Hinojosa’s concerns, though, the fate of SpaceX’s company town has been largely written in the stars ever since Musk first pitched the idea in 2021. As a company that brings jobs and investment to the area, SpaceX enjoys widespread support from local officials.
Musk celebrated the election news with a simple post on X that reads, “Starbase, Texas Is now a real city!”
