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Starbase is a launch site unlike any place on Earth, with humanity’s future in space unfolding in plain view for the public. From the humble beginnings of building rockets in tents, the city is now home to hundreds of residents along with world-class manufacturing and test facilities and an orbital launch pad.
There are not currently publicly accessible businesses or amenities in the nascent community, but visitors can find a wealth of options in neighboring cities Brownsville, Port Isabel, and South Padre Island, including sites from which to view launches of the most powerful rocket in history.
Starbase gives residents and visitors the opportunity to regularly see local wildlife—sea turtles, tortoises, birds, and more.
Community beach cleanups at Boca Chica Beach offer a simple, hands-on way for residents and visitors to take part in keeping local shorelines clear and accessible.
The residents of Starbase are supporting the next generation of innovators and problem solvers in the Rio Grande Valley with community-led projects such as the Boca Chica to Mars exhibit at The Children’s Museum of Brownsville.
Starbase, Texas was born from SpaceX’s bold vision to establish a private spaceport to support its next generation launch vehicles. In August 2014, SpaceX announced it had selected a remote coastal site near Brownsville, Texas, drawn by its geographic advantages beneficial to spaceport operations.
The official groundbreaking ceremony took place on September 22, 2014, at Boca Chica Beach. Initial soil stabilization work began in 2015, but it wasn’t until late 2018 that full-scale construction of facilities accelerated. From the outset, the development of the site was anything but conventional. In the early days, SpaceX engineers lived onsite in Airstream trailers and campers as they laid the groundwork for the spaceport. Manufacturing operations began under large tents with teams working around the clock in rugged conditions. By 2019, the site was actively supporting engine tests and suborbital “hop” flights of early Starship prototypes. These efforts culminated in the first orbital launch attempts from the site in 2023.
The term “Starbase” came into wider use in March 2021, when SpaceX floated the idea of incorporating a city under that name. The vision was not just a launchpad, but a thriving spaceport community. That vision began materializing when the first families moved onsite to Weems (now Memes!) Street in early 2022, alongside existing Boca Chica residents, establishing a permanent residential presence alongside the launch and manufacturing operations. Today, Starbase is home to more than 500 full-time residents, including SpaceX employees, their families, children, and pets. It’s a company town like no other, one where building humanity’s path to Mars is a neighborhood and community endeavor.
In 2025, SpaceX filed an official request to incorporate the site as a new city named Starbase, marking a major step toward realizing its future not just as a hub for innovation and industry, but as the gateway to Mars and the springboard for human exploration beyond Earth.
