SpaceX has filed a letter with a judge seeking approval to incorporate Starbase, located in Texas, as an official city.
Starbase serves as an industrial complex and rocket launch site that is the primary hub for testing and manufacturing SpaceX’s Starship launch vehicles, according to the company’s website.
Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO, has provided an update on the effort to have Starbase recognized as “the newest city in the Rio Grande Valley.”
In a letter dated December 12, 2024, addressed to Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr., Starbase’s General Manager Kathryn Lueders wrote on behalf of the entire Starbase community.
Lueders posted the letter on Twitter, describing it as a petition “requesting an election to determine whether Starbase, Texas, should be incorporated as a city.”
The document states: “Starbase is home to the development and production of SpaceX’s Starship, a project designed to fundamentally alter humanity’s access to space.”
“We are investing billions in infrastructure and generating hundreds of millions in income and taxes for local businesses and government, all with the goal of making South Texas the Gateway to Mars.”
“SpaceX is proud to play a major role in the South Texas and Cameron County communities, which are home to thousands of our employees, with several hundred living at Starbase. To continue growing the workforce necessary to rapidly develop and manufacture Starship, we need the ability to grow Starbase as a community.”
“That is why we are requesting that Cameron County call an election to enable the incorporation of Starbase as the newest city in the Rio Grande Valley.”
The petition argues that transforming Starbase into a city would “streamline the processes required to build the amenities necessary to make the area a world class place to live for the hundreds already calling it home, as well as for prospective workers eager to help build humanity’s future in space.”
It highlights “several civil functions” that SpaceX already “currently performs” in the Starbase area, such as “management of the roads, utilities, and the provision of schooling and medical care for the residents.” The petition indicates that incorporation would transfer the management of some of these functions to a more appropriate public body.
The document clarifies: “We want to emphasize that incorporation will have no impact on SpaceX’s commitment to being a science-backed steward of the local environment, nor on the extensive list of environmental mitigations developed in conjunction with state and federal agencies to minimize the impact of operations at Starbase.”
The petition also outlines the company’s intent to continue being a “force for good in the area” by funding public works projects, including conservation and clean-up efforts, as well as promoting environmental education through initiatives like “hosting school tours.”
The petition concludes: “Starbase is a one-of-a-kind location for manufacturing, testing, and launching the most advanced rocket and spaceships ever conceived—a fully and rapidly reusable system that paves the way for humanity’s return to the Moon and eventual travel to Mars. We look forward to continuing its transformation into a world-class hub for the men and women working to make life multiplanetary.”
“Finally, we would like to express our sincerest gratitude for Cameron County’s support, guidance, and partnership over the years. We believe incorporation will only strengthen and deepen our commitment and ties to the area.”
“Ad astra, Kathryn Lueders, General Manager, Starbase.”
Elon Musk has since shared what appears to be an update on the situation.
Musk indicated that the request seems to have been approved.
The SpaceX CEO retweeted a copy of the letter with the caption: “SpaceX HQ will now officially be in the city of Starbase, Texas!”
Judge Treviño Jr stated on Thursday (December 12) that the petition is under review, as reported by the Associated Press.
He commented: “Our legal and elections administration will review the petition, see whether or not it complied with all of the statutory requirements and then we’ll go from there.”