Science & Tech
SpaceX Starbase is a spaceport and industrial complex at Boca Chica on the Texas Gulf Coast near Brownsville, serving as SpaceX’s headquarters and primary site for building, testing, and launching Starship vehicles. Chosen in 2014 after a federal environmental review, the site developed in stages before being redirected in 2018 from earlier launch plans to Starship. It produced Starhopper and later prototypes, and by 2023 had become SpaceX’s fourth orbital-class launch facility with more than 2,100 full-time workers. In 2025 the surrounding area became the city of Starbase, Texas, while environmental disputes highlighted tensions between expansion and the fragile coastal habitat.
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South Padre Island, Texas · United States
