SpaceX wants to make its Starbase launch site a city in its own right. To do this, the company founded by Elon Musk sent a petition demanding the holding of an election in order to make this transition.
Starbase has been operational since 2019. It occupies around forty hectares located on the coast of Boca Chica Village, a community located in Cameron County (Texas), on the border with Mexico.
Several thousand employees on Starbase
More than 3,400 SpaceX employees and contractors work at Starbase and several hundred of them live there. All are working on the development of the Starship Super Heavy, which is expected to complete its next test flight (the seventh) in January 2025.
“ To continue to grow the workforce needed to rapidly develop and manufacture Starship, we must be able to grow Starbase as a community. That's why we're calling on Cameron County to hold an election to allow Starbase to be incorporated as a new city in the Rio Grande Valley “, argues Kathryn Lueders, CEO of Starbase, in the letter to the county.
Making Texas “the gateway to Mars”
“ Our legal and election administration will review the petition, check whether it complies with all statutory requirements and decide from there “, replied Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr.
“ We're investing billions in infrastructure and generating hundreds of millions in revenue and taxes for local businesses and government, all with the goal of making South Texas the gateway to Mars », underlined Kathryn Lueders
Earlier this year, Elon Musk announced his intention to move SpaceX headquarters from California to Texas.
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