Insider Brief
- SpaceX’s South Texas launch site, Starbase, has officially been incorporated as a city following a May 3 vote by local residents, most of whom are company employees.
- The city will be governed by senior SpaceX staff and serve as the hub for Starship rocket development supporting NASA’s Artemis missions and Department of Defense contracts.
- Critics warn that creating a company town consolidates power over public lands and infrastructure, raising concerns about oversight, governance, and access.
More than a decade after what started as Elon Musk’s vision of a commercial spaceport in Texas, Starbase is officially a city.
Cameron County, Texas, residents voted 212 to 6 to incorporate Starbase as a city in a May 3 election, according to the results posted to the county’s elections department web page.
“Is now a real city!” Musk posted to X, formerly Twitter, the night of the election. It should be noted that most all residents voting are affiliated to SpaceX, according to the Associated Press.
Along with the incorporation vote, Starbase also elected SpaceX’s VP of Texas Test & Launch was Bobby Pedan as mayor and and Jordan Buss, Senior EHS Director, and former Manager of Operations Engineering Jenna Petrzelka as the two city commissioners.
Starbase serves as the launch and development center for SpaceX’s next-generation Starship rockets, vehicles designed for deep space missions under contract with NASA and the Department of Defense. The site plays a critical role in Artemis missions intended to return astronauts to the Moon later this decade, and eventually, Mars.
As the Associated Press reports, the creation of a city adds legal and administrative infrastructure to what has largely been a company-controlled area. It comes as SpaceX has asked federal authorities to expand its annual launch limit from five to 25, signaling broader ambitions for frequent liftoffs from the region.
Supporters see the move as a practical step to keep pace with the demands of space exploration. In a 2024 letter to local officials, Starbase General Manager Kathryn Lueders wrote that the company already managed roads, utilities, schooling, and medical care. “We need the ability to grow Starbase as a community,” she said, as reported by the AP.
But critics say the creation of a company town grants too much control to Musk and raises concerns about access to public lands, the AP noted. The city’s jurisdiction could expand authority over nearby Boca Chica State Park and a public beach frequently closed during rocket tests.
On the day of the vote, protesters gathered near the beach, some carrying signs and a piñata of Musk. Their concern centers on the precedent of handing municipal power to a private company and what it could mean for the area’s residents, environment, and governance.
Related bills in the Texas Legislature propose shifting certain regulatory powers from county government to the new city’s mayor and council. If passed, such changes would consolidate more authority under Starbase’s leadership, raising further questions about oversight, according to the AP.
The city itself spans only 1.5 square miles and includes modest homes, trailers, and rocket infrastructure. Still, its legal status could allow for new municipal rules, tax structures, and land use decisions controlled by those closely aligned with SpaceX.
The development coincides with broader moves in U.S. space policy, including legislation to establish a lunar time standard for coordinating off-world operations. Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D., Va.) said last week her Celestial Time Standardization Act, aimed at enabling long-term lunar bases, advanced out of committee with bipartisan support.
Starbase’s formal incorporation and NASA’s pursuit of a lunar clock are parallel signs of the same trend: laying down governance frameworks as the Moon becomes not just a destination, but a place to settle.
SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment to the AP about the incorporation or its future governance plans.
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