SpaceX now owns an entire Texas city built for Mars missions

SpaceX’s Transformation of Boca Chica into Starbase City

A quiet Texas beach near South Padre Island changed the course of space travel in just over a decade. SpaceX first eyed Boca Chica in 2012, then broke ground in 2014 after Elon Musk picked the spot for rocket launches.

By 2018, plans shifted to focus only on the Mars-bound Starship. The site soon buzzed with 2,100 workers as SpaceX built and flew its first test “hopper” in 2019.

After the full Starship’s first launch in 2023, the area took an even bolder step – voting to form America’s first modern company town in May 2025.

The story of how this remote beach became Starbase City unfolds right before your eyes from Highway 4.

SpaceX Hunted for the Perfect Launch Site for Years

SpaceX spent two years looking at seven locations across the US before picking their spot. They noticed Boca Chica, a quiet beach near Brownsville, Texas, during the FAA’s environmental check.

The company bought 41 acres and leased another 57 acres by mid-2014. In July, the FAA approved the project, saying it wouldn’t hurt the environment.

Elon Musk announced Boca Chica as SpaceX’s newest launch site in August 2014 after finishing all the environmental paperwork.

Texas Rolled Out the Red Carpet for Musk’s Rocket Plans

Elon Musk showed up for the groundbreaking on September 22, 2014, with Texas Governor Rick Perry and local officials cheering him on. They planned to launch Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, up to 12 times yearly.

SpaceX promised hundreds of jobs and millions in investment for South Texas. Workers started prepping the site in October 2015, moving dirt and fixing the sandy soil.

The first tracking antenna went up in August 2016, and the first propellant tank arrived in July 2018.

Musk Changed His Mind About What to Build in Texas

By May 2018, Elon Musk completely changed course. He announced the South Texas site would focus only on the Starship program, dropping the original plans for Falcon rocket launches.

The company started designing facilities for the huge 9-meter-wide Starship instead of the smaller rockets they first planned. This switch changed what Boca Chica meant for SpaceX’s future.

The beach site turned from a commercial launch pad into the main testing ground for the spacecraft Musk hoped would take people to Mars.

A Weird Water Tower-Looking Rocket Took Shape

Work sped up in late 2018 with crews building day and night.

SpaceX built their first test vehicle, called “Starhopper,” which stood about 65 feet tall and used stainless steel. The thing looked so much like a water tower that locals often thought it was one.

Workers put Raptor engine number 6 on Starhopper to get ready for testing.

The test program faced a scary moment when a fireball erupted during one test, but the SpaceX team kept moving forward with their plans.

The Water Tower Actually Flew in Summer 2019

Starhopper made its first free flight on July 25, 2019, at about 10:45 pm local time.

The stubby vehicle rose about 65 feet in the air, moved sideways a bit, and landed safely, using just one Raptor engine.

This happened after a failed try the night before when the engine fired for only 3 seconds before stopping. Musk wrote on Twitter, “Water towers *can* fly!”

The company then aimed for a higher 200-meter test hop in the weeks that followed.

SpaceX Built Rockets Like They Were in a Race

The company started building many full-size Starship prototypes at once, both in Texas and at their Florida facility. Teams competed against each other to build better test vehicles for more ambitious flights.

They made prototypes with names like SN8, SN9, SN10, and SN11, each more complex than the last. Several of these rockets blew up during high-altitude tests in 2020 and 2021.

SpaceX used this trial-and-error approach, learning from each failure to improve the next vehicle.

The Beach Turned Into a Rocket Factory

The once-quiet beach area changed into a busy 24-hour manufacturing complex with many production buildings. By late 2023, more than 2,100 full-time employees worked at the site.

SpaceX built a second launch tower next to the first one to handle more launches. The company set up housing for workers, including a village of Airstream trailers and actual homes.

The factory grew to make both parts of the Starship system: the Starship spacecraft itself and the huge Super Heavy boosters needed to get it to orbit.

The Biggest Rocket Ever Blew Up on Its First Try

SpaceX tried the first combined Starship and Super Heavy launch on April 20, 2023, at 8:33 am. This rocket became the most powerful ever flown, beating a record set by the Soviet N1 rocket fifty years earlier.

The Super Heavy booster had 33 Raptor engines, though three failed to start during liftoff. About 4 minutes into the flight, the rocket started tumbling out of control.

The stages never split as planned, and SpaceX blew up the rocket over the Gulf of Mexico using its self-destruct system.

The Government Grounded SpaceX After the Explosion

The Federal Aviation Administration stopped SpaceX’s launch program while they checked what went wrong. SpaceX found 63 things they needed to fix before trying again.

They made big upgrades, including adding a water spray system to protect the launch pad from the rocket’s intense heat and power. The first launch badly damaged the pad, needing major repairs.

After reviewing all the changes SpaceX made, the FAA ended their investigation in September 2023 and let the company start planning their next launch try.

SpaceX Employees Voted to Create Their Own City

A special election happened on May 3, 2025, with 283 people eligible to vote. The measure passed by a landslide, with 212 voting yes and only 6 voting no.

The proposal needed just 143 yes votes to win. Bobby Peden, a SpaceX vice president, became the mayor after running unopposed.

Two other SpaceX employees won commissioner seats, also with no opposition.

Cameron County made it official on May 20, 2025, certifying Starbase as the first new city in the county since 1995.

This made Starbase America’s newest company town, built around space exploration instead of coal or steel.

Visiting South Padre Island Beach, Texas

You can visit Boca Chica Beach where SpaceX built Starbase, their rocket production facility and launch site for Mars missions. Take Texas State Highway 4 east from Brownsville for 20 miles to reach the beach.

You’ll see the Mega Bays production facility at Remedios Avenue and the Orbital Launch Tower from the beach.

Check starbase.texas.gov or text “BEACH” to 1-866-513-3475 before visiting since they close the area during rocket testing.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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