Back موقع إطلاق سبيس إكس في جنوب تكساس Arabic স্পেসএক্স স্টারবেস Bengali/Bangla SpaceX South Texas launch site Czech Starbase German Starbase (SpaceX) Spanish اسپیس‌اکس استاربیس Persian SpaceX South Texas Launch Site Finnish SpaceX Starbase French אתר השיגור של SpaceX בדרום טקסס HE Boca Chica (SpaceX) Hungarian

SpaceX Starbase

SpaceX Starbase
Starbase sign with production site in the background
Map
LocationBrownsville, Texas, Cameron County, Texas, United States
Coordinates25°59′15″N 97°11′11″W / 25.98750°N 97.18639°W / 25.98750; -97.18639
Established2014 (2014)
OperatorSpaceX
Launch pad(s)2
OLM-A launch history
Launches3
First launch20 April 2023[1]
Last launch14 March 2024
Associated
rockets
OLM-B launch history
StatusUnder construction
Launches0
Associated
rockets

Starbase is an industrial complex for Starship rockets, located near Brownsville, Texas, United States. It has been under construction since the late 2010s by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer. Starbase is composed of a spaceport near the Gulf of Mexico, a production facility at the Boca Chica village, and a small structure test site along the Texas State Highway 4.

When conceptualized, its stated purpose was "to provide SpaceX an exclusive launch site that would allow the company to accommodate its launch manifest and meet tight launch windows."[2] The launch site was originally intended to support launches of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles as well as "a variety of reusable suborbital launch vehicles",[2] but in early 2018, SpaceX announced a change of plans, stating that the launch site would be used exclusively for SpaceX's next-generation launch vehicle, Starship.[3] Between 2018 and 2020, the site added significant rocket production and test capacity. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk indicated in 2014 that he expected "commercial astronauts, private astronauts, to be departing from South Texas,"[4] and eventually launching spacecraft to Mars from the site.[5]

Between 2012 and 2014, SpaceX considered seven potential locations around the United States for the new commercial launch facility. Generally, for orbital launches an ideal site would have an easterly water overflight path for safety and be located as close to the equator as possible in order to take advantage of the Earth's rotational speed. For much of this period, a parcel of land adjacent to Boca Chica Beach near Brownsville, Texas, was the leading candidate location, during an extended period while the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) conducted an extensive environmental assessment on the use of the Texas location as a launch site. Also during this period, SpaceX began acquiring land in the area, purchasing approximately 41 acres (170,000 m2) and leasing 57 acres (230,000 m2) by July 2014. SpaceX announced in August 2014, that they had selected the location near Brownsville as the location for the new non-governmental launch site,[6] after the final environmental assessment completed and environmental agreements were in place by July 2014.[7][8][9] Integrated Flight Test-1 of Starship made it SpaceX's fourth active launch facility, following three launch locations that are leased from the US government.

SpaceX conducted a groundbreaking ceremony on the new launch facility in September 2014,[10][4] and soil preparation began in October 2015.[11][12] The first tracking antenna was installed in August 2016, and the first propellant tank arrived in July 2018. In late 2018, construction ramped up considerably, and the site saw the fabrication of the first 9 m-diameter (30 ft) prototype test vehicle, Starhopper, which was tested and flown March–August 2019. Through 2021, additional prototype flight vehicles were being built at the facility for higher-altitude tests. By late 2023, over 2,100 full-time employees were working at the site.[13] The development of Starship has resulted in several lawsuits against the FAA and SpaceX from environmental groups.[14][15] Some conservationists have expressed concern over the impact of Starship's development in Boca Chica, Texas on species like the critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea-turtle,[14] nearby wildlife habitats[16] and national-refuge land.[17]

  1. ^ "NASA chief hails SpaceX's 1st Starship launch despite explosion". Space.com. 20 April 2023. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference faa201304v1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference 201805pressConference was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference sn20140922 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference bh20140927 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Berger, Eric (4 August 2014). "Texas, SpaceX announce spaceport deal near Brownsville". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  7. ^ "Elon Musk's Futuristic Spaceport Is Coming to Texas". Bloomberg Businessweek. 16 July 2014. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  8. ^ Klotz, Irene (11 July 2014). "FAA Ruling Clears Path for SpaceX Launch site in Texas". Space News. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference bh20140729 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference bh20140922 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference vmn20151022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference krgv20160118 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Clark, Steve (13 December 2023). "Starbase general manager discusses future plans at invite-only Brownsville event". MyRGV.com. Archived from the original on 17 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  14. ^ a b "SpaceX's Texas Site Needs Full Environmental Review, Conservationists Say". Center for Biological Diversity. Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  15. ^ "SpaceX sued by environmental groups, again, claiming rockets harm critical Texas bird habitats". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  16. ^ Leinfelder, Andrea (29 November 2023). "Spectators of SpaceX rocket may be damaging critical bird habitats in Texas, regulators say". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  17. ^ "SpaceX sued by environmental groups, again, claiming rockets harm critical Texas bird habitats". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.

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