Our Space Coast is home to one of the busiest launch regions in the world, but the skyline could soon look a little different with a brand-new rocket.SpaceX’s megarocket, Starship, conducts its test flights in Boca Chica, Texas, a community now known as Starbase.”The rocket is huge,” Jeanette White-Greider said.White-Greider lives and works on South Padre Island, just north of Starbase. She also serves as president of the chamber of commerce, and she’s no stranger to rockets.”Having grown up in Merritt Island, Florida, which is right next to Cape Canaveral, it’s very much like being back home,” White-Greider said. “It’s fun to watch other people experience it because they haven’t grown up with it like I have.”The 1993 Merritt Island High School graduate moved to Texas more than 40 years ago. She said the Starship launches give her a sense of nostalgia.”I came across the causeway , and I was like, ‘I’m home. I’m home,'” White-Greider said. “It was so much like home.”In her role at the chamber of commerce, she’s seen many local businesses benefit from Starship launches.”If we have a launch, we see an increase in traffic and an increase in sales tax and hotel tax revenue,” White-Greider said.Not far from South Padre Island is Brownsville, the largest city in the Rio Grande Valley. It’s also one of the poorest regions in South Texas.”What we have here is one of the richest men in the world blowing up rockets in a low-income, Brown community,” Bekah Hinojosa said.Hinojosa is co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network. She’s been outspoken against Elon Musk and SpaceX for the past five years, arguing the company has no place in the Rio Grande Valley.Cameron County leaders see it differently. According to county data, SpaceX has brought more than 4,000 permanent jobs to Starbase and has affected more than 24,000 workers who live in the area.”They order from us, and we deliver to them, so it’s helped us a lot,” Tonie Rivera said. She’s a delivery driver.”It’s bringing a lot of people here. More businesses are opening. There are always pros and cons with everything,” Ashley Andujo said. Her family moved to the area after her husband got a job at SpaceX.The downsides include loud noises, beach and road closures, and increased traffic.”We used to be a little town that had hardly anything,” Rivera said. “Like I said, you could get anywhere in 10 minutes. Now it takes a while.”It’s also led to temporary closures.On test flight days, all nonessential personnel must evacuate if they’re within a 3-mile radius of the launch pad. That includes Boca Chica Beach.”Boca Chica Beach is a pristine, natural landscape where people go to fish to feed their families,” Hinojosa said. “People here call it the poor people’s beach, and it’s been quickly taken over by Elon Musk.”The launch towers sit just steps from the beach, and parking in the area is limited.After speaking with residents, business owners, and local officials in Texas, it’s clear opinions remain divided over whether Starship has been good or bad for the region.”The island has seen so much diversity and change in the last several years,” White-Greider said.As Starship prepares for a possible future on Florida’s Space Coast, communities here could soon be weighing many of the same benefits and challenges already playing out in South Texas.
STARBASE, Texas —
Our Space Coast is home to one of the busiest launch regions in the world, but the skyline could soon look a little different with a brand-new rocket.
SpaceX’s megarocket, Starship, conducts its test flights in Boca Chica, Texas, a community now known as Starbase.
“The rocket is huge,” Jeanette White-Greider said.
White-Greider lives and works on South Padre Island, just north of Starbase. She also serves as president of the chamber of commerce, and she’s no stranger to rockets.
“Having grown up in Merritt Island, Florida, which is right next to Cape Canaveral, it’s very much like being back home,” White-Greider said. “It’s fun to watch other people experience it because they haven’t grown up with it like I have.”
The 1993 Merritt Island High School graduate moved to Texas more than 40 years ago. She said the Starship launches give her a sense of nostalgia.
“I came across the causeway [in South Padre], and I was like, ‘I’m home. I’m home,'” White-Greider said. “It was so much like home.”
In her role at the chamber of commerce, she’s seen many local businesses benefit from Starship launches.
“If we have a launch, we see an increase in traffic and an increase in sales tax and hotel tax revenue,” White-Greider said.
Not far from South Padre Island is Brownsville, the largest city in the Rio Grande Valley. It’s also one of the poorest regions in South Texas.
“What we have here is one of the richest men in the world blowing up rockets in a low-income, Brown community,” Bekah Hinojosa said.
Hinojosa is co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network. She’s been outspoken against Elon Musk and SpaceX for the past five years, arguing the company has no place in the Rio Grande Valley.
Cameron County leaders see it differently. According to county data, SpaceX has brought more than 4,000 permanent jobs to Starbase and has affected more than 24,000 workers who live in the area.
“They order from us, and we deliver to them, so it’s helped us a lot,” Tonie Rivera said. She’s a delivery driver.
“It’s bringing a lot of people here. More businesses are opening. There are always pros and cons with everything,” Ashley Andujo said. Her family moved to the area after her husband got a job at SpaceX.
The downsides include loud noises, beach and road closures, and increased traffic.
“We used to be a little town that had hardly anything,” Rivera said. “Like I said, you could get anywhere in 10 minutes. Now it takes a while.”
It’s also led to temporary closures.
On test flight days, all nonessential personnel must evacuate if they’re within a 3-mile radius of the launch pad. That includes Boca Chica Beach.
“Boca Chica Beach is a pristine, natural landscape where people go to fish to feed their families,” Hinojosa said. “People here call it the poor people’s beach, and it’s been quickly taken over by Elon Musk.”
The launch towers sit just steps from the beach, and parking in the area is limited.
After speaking with residents, business owners, and local officials in Texas, it’s clear opinions remain divided over whether Starship has been good or bad for the region.
“The island has seen so much diversity and change in the last several years,” White-Greider said.
As Starship prepares for a possible future on Florida’s Space Coast, communities here could soon be weighing many of the same benefits and challenges already playing out in South Texas.