On a hot August day in south Texas, Bekah Hinojosa, co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Center, battles the heat by cranking up the A/C in her car. As she drives Highway 4 towards Boca Chica Beach, she observes the constant stream of 18-wheelers and Cybertrucks passing by. Hinojosa notes, “This road is always under construction. SpaceX is rapidly colonizing and changing the entire landscape of Boca Chica.”
Starbase, a newly established city by SpaceX in 2025, aims to transform the region near the Gulf of Mexico. The city plans to annex approximately 7,100 acres, including state and private lands. The creation of Starbase supports SpaceX’s goal to expand its workforce and enhance capabilities for developing rocket launches.
In April 2025, the Federal Aviation Administration approved SpaceX’s request to elevate its launch operations at the Boca Chica Launch Site. These include up to 25 annual Starship/Super Heavy orbital launches, landings for Starship, and Super Heavy, along with vehicle upgrades. Elon Musk envisions a complex that facilitates human moon and Mars missions.
The SpaceX site currently hosts launch pads and test locations. Starbase controls road access to nearby beaches and a nature reserve during launches. Documents available to landowners and on the city website highlight that annexation would foster better coordination with federal and state partners like Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, and others.
“We’re on beautiful pristine land owned by a property owner who doesn’t wanna get sucked up into Elon Musk’s city of Starbase,” Hinojosa said.
Activists, including Hinojosa, voice concerns over the impact of Starbase’s planned expansion. Hinojosa engages with several landowners affected, such as Barbara Buckner. Buckner questions whether Starbase will prioritize residents or SpaceX, emphasizing that the mayor and a city commissioner work for SpaceX. She expresses fear that the annexation marks only the beginning of further expansion.
Gerold Podraza, an 83-year-old landowner, shares his opposition, stating, “It just represents that the people who have money are able to do things that they shouldn’t be allowed to do.”
Environmental concerns have been exacerbated by SpaceX’s operations. In 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency reported SpaceX’s violation of the Clean Water Act due to industrial wastewater discharge. Hinojosa, worried about increased rocket launches, documents post-launch debris such as metal shrapnel.
SpaceX has not addressed NPR inquiries regarding environmental impacts, while Cameron County Commissioner Sofia Benavides notes that Starbase’s expansion is legally permissible. Starbase set an August 18 deadline for impacted landowners to voice concerns, followed by two required public hearings before voting on annexation in September.
Hinojosa’s organization is evaluating legal actions against annexation. “They call it Starbase. You pull the curtain back, it’s the SpaceX annexation,” she said. “SpaceX threatens the Rio Grande Valley. And that’s why we’ll continue to resist.”
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