Federal safety regulators are investigating the death of a worker at SpaceX’s Starbase complex that occurred just days before the company plans to launch its Starship rocket for the 12th time.
Local officials haven’t identified the victim. They referred queries to Elon Musk’s space company which hasn’t commented on the incident.
“The City extends its condolences to the family and loved ones of the individual who passed away,” Starbase City Administrator Cayetana Polanco said in a statement to myRGV.com. “SpaceX’s operations and workplace matters are not within the City’s purview. We defer all inquiries regarding this incident to SpaceX, the relevant contracting company, and the appropriate authorities.”
The Browsnville Fire Department was dispatched to Starbase at 4:17 a.m. Friday, according to Chief Jarrett Sheldon, but they were waived off seven minutes later after being advised SpaceX’s emergency medical services were handling the situation.
On Sunday, SpaceX delayed the Starship launch originally scheduled for Tuesday to Wednesday. It hasn’t given a reason for the change or said if it’s related to the accident.
Cameras streaming live views of the Gigabay building that’s under construction at Starbase caught footage of the flashing lights of ambulances and first responders at the scene for several hours.
“Work did not restart on the Gigabay for the entire day,” wrote Jesse Meaney, an engineering consultant who runs an “X” feed called TheSpaceEngineer and posted about the videos.
OSHA has cited and fined SpaceX 17 times since 2021 for workplace safety violations at Starbase and McGregor in Texas as well as its sites in Washington and California.
SpaceX’s last reported workplace fatality appears to have been a 2014 accident at McGregor that left a contractor dead after he was knocked off a truck.