Category: Starship

SpaceX Starbase: Helping Lift Brownsville Out of Poverty and Bring Wealth to Local Families

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For many years, Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley carried the difficult reputation of being among the poorest regions in the United States. High poverty rates shaped daily life for families across Cameron County for decades. In the 1990s, the area was even designated a federal Rural Empowerment Zone in recognition of these long-standing challenges.

Today, the trajectory is changing.

Poverty rates in Cameron County have been declining steadily. They fell from the mid-30s percent range around 2010 to 28.9% in the 2015–2019 period, and now stand at 24.8% according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data (2020–2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates). While the rate is still higher than state and national averages, the consistent downward trend reflects real, measurable progress.

A New Wave of Investment and Job Creation

Recent data from the Greater Brownsville Economic Development Corporation’s FY 2025 Annual Impact Report shows strong momentum. Between October 2024 and September 2025, the organization helped attract $183.7 million in new investment and supported the creation of 3,288 jobs. The report also shows 10,604 jobs retained during that period and 7,116 jobs already committed for 2026.

Chart: Greater Brownsville EDC FY 2025 Key Economic Highlights

Greater Brownsville EDC FY 2025 Annual Impact Report: $183.7 million in new investment, 3,288 jobs created, and 7,116 jobs committed for 2026, highlighting strong economic growth in Brownsville driven in part by SpaceX Starbase.
Greater Brownsville EDC FY 2025 Annual Impact Report: $183.7 million in new investment, 3,288 jobs created, and 7,116 jobs committed for 2026, highlighting strong economic growth in Brownsville driven in part by SpaceX Starbase.

These figures reflect broad economic activity across the region, with SpaceX’s Starbase playing a significant role as a major anchor project. Starbase has brought thousands of direct jobs to the area and has helped attract suppliers and related investment. This type of large-scale development is helping address long-standing needs for stable employment and skills development in Brownsville and surrounding communities.

Local voices are also noticing the change. Former Brownsville City Councilwoman Jessica Tetreau, speaking at Starbase beach at sunset, described the shift she has witnessed in her own community:

“Before, in the past in Brownsville, people would talk about the brain drain — how all of our youth would have to leave to San Antonio, to Austin to find jobs… And now these young people that are from the community are finding these amazing jobs.”

She shared that in her own neighborhood, parents are now working at SpaceX, and children are growing up excited about launches and rocket engineering — “just like their fathers.”

“The kids that are graduating from UTRGV and local universities — they’re coming to work here. It’s really exciting. Engineering is now one of the hottest and exciting things to have in this area.”

Direct Support for Education and Downtown Renewal

In addition to job creation, there has been targeted investment in the community’s future. In 2021, Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation committed $30 million to the area — $20 million to schools across Cameron County and $10 million for the revitalization of downtown Brownsville.

Brownsville Independent School District received more than $2.4 million of the school funding. The money has supported the expansion of Career and Technical Education programs, helping prepare young people for the skilled jobs now available locally.

The downtown portion included a $1 million grant to the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation to strengthen the historic core of the city.

Here are examples of the renewal happening in downtown Brownsville today:

Main Street Deli — one of the welcoming new and refreshed businesses in downtown Brownsville
Ramblas, a popular downtown venue reflecting the growing energy in Brownsville’s historic district.
Local bookstores and cultural spaces are contributing to the renewed atmosphere downtown.
Dodici Pizza & Wine — examples of new businesses helping bring life and activity back to Brownsville’s streets.

A Community Moving Forward

Brownsville has always been a resilient place. In recent years, it has gained access to meaningful new employment opportunities, investment in education, and visible improvements in its downtown. These developments are helping lift families, create local wealth, and support the renewal of the community.

Challenges remain, as they do in any place working to overcome long-term economic hardship. But the direction is positive. New jobs are being created, young people are gaining access to better training, and the heart of the city is showing signs of renewal.

This is the quieter but very real story of progress happening in Brownsville today.

CATCHING THE GIANT ROCKET

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Elon Musk: Congrats to the SpaceX team on catching the giant rocket!

Elon: It’s mind-blowing that the SpaceX team has caught the largest flying object ever made multiple times using a novel method of catching it with giant chopsticks!

[SpaceX employees and Elon pause to watch a video showing the booster, with fiery engines, descending through space, adjusting, and being caught with chopsticks.]

Elon: Have you ever seen that before?

[The video is awe-inspiring. Elon congratulates his team, calling it quite an achievement. Everyone cheers; it’s an emotional moment.]

Elon: We catch it this way, which has never been done before, to make the rocket rapidly reusable. If the super heavy booster, 30 feet in diameter, landed with legs on a pad, we’d have to pick it up, stow the legs, and move it back to the launch pad, which is difficult.

But catching it with the same tower that places it in the launch mount is the best for rapid reuse. It’s caught by the arms that placed it, then set back in the launch ring immediately. In principle, the super heavy booster can be reflown within an hour of landing. It returns in five or six minutes, gets caught, placed back, refilled with propellant in 30 to 40 minutes, and a ship placed on top. It could refly every hour or two.

Image Courtesy SpaceX, Inc and source Elon Musk’s Mars 2026 company talk.

BECOMIMG A MULTIPLANETARY CIVILIZATION

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“Progress is measured by the timeline to establishing a self-sustaining civilization on Mars”

Elon: With each launch, especially early on, we learn more about what’s needed to make life multiplanetary and improve Starship to take hundreds of thousands, if not millions, to Mars.

Ideally, we can take anyone who wants to go and bring all equipment necessary to make Mars self-sustaining, so Mars can grow by itself.

Worst-case scenario, we reach the point where Mars can continue to grow even if supply ships from Earth stop for any reason.

At that point, we’ve achieved civilization resilience, where Mars could rescue Earth or vice versa.

Having two self-sustaining planets is incredibly important for long-term survival. A multi-planet civilization is likely to last ten times longer than a single-planet one because of risks like World War III, meteors, or supervolcanoes. With two planets, we keep going, then move beyond Mars to the asteroid belt, Jupiter’s moons, and other star systems, making science fiction reality. To achieve this, we need rapidly reusable rockets to keep the cost per ton to Mars as low as possible. That’s essential. We need rapidly reliable rockets—it’s like a pirate’s “Rrrr”: rapidly reusable, reliable rockets!

Image Courtesy SpaceX, Inc and source Elon Musk’s Mars 2026 company talk.

STARSHIP VS. TESLA: SCALING MANUFACTURING

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Elon Musk: When we look at our build comparison in vehicles per year, Boeing and Airbus make airplanes, but SpaceX will probably make as many Starships for Mars as Boeing and Airbus make commercial airplanes. This is an enormous scale, and each Starship is bigger than a 747 or an A380.

In terms of Starlink satellites, version three satellites, we’ll make on the order of 5,000 per year, and at some point, closer to 10,000 per year. Those Starlink V3 satellites are roughly the size of a 737 (unfurled). They compare to the B-24 bomber in World War II.

The scale of production is still small compared to Tesla.

Elon: Tesla will probably double or triple that volume in the future. It puts things into perspective that it’s possible to build a vast number of interplanetary Starships. Even when comparing tonnage, Tesla and other car companies produce far more complex manufactured tonnage than SpaceX, showing it’s achievable. These numbers, while insanely high by traditional space standards, are achievable because they’ve been achieved in other industries.

GIGA BAY EXPANSION

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Elon: There’s a person next to it that looks like a tiny ant. That’s our Giga Bay!

[Elon points to a render of a massive building]

We’re expanding integration to produce 1,000 per year. The Giga Bay hasn’t been built yet, but we’re building it. It’s a truly enormous structure, one of the biggest in the world by some measures, designed for 1,000 Starships per year. We’re also building a Giga Bay in Florida, so we’ll have two facilities—one in Texas and one in Florida. It’s difficult to gauge the size of these buildings because you need a human for scale. When you see how tiny a human is next to it, you realize how enormous it is.

Source: Elon’s Mars 2026 Company Talk

STARBASE IS RARE

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Elon Musk: “The gateway to Mars. Here we are at the newly incorporated Starbase, Texas. This is the first new city made in America in, I think, quite a few decades. At least that’s what I’m told. It’s a very cool name, named because it’s where we’re going to develop the technology necessary to take humanity, civilization, and life as we know it to another planet for the first time in the 4.5 billion-year history of Earth.”

From Elon’s May 20, 2025 Mars Company Talk

firsthand reactions to Starship booster catch at Rocket Ranch

Gail’s Podcast on 𝕏 Episode No. 108: Reactions to Starship Second Booster Catch

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Rocket Ranch at Starbase, Texas

INTERVIEW: 15 people at Starbase share their firsthand experience watching SpaceX’s 2nd booster catch – historical! Kids said they loved it!

Starship Launches are forever etched in people’s hearts when they have the delightful opportunity to attend them. In this podcast, we will meet and talk with people who share their first impressions of the launch. I got to talk to them right after the second booster catch at Rocket Ranch. I spoke to 15 people. Their reactions are historic. I am one of the few citizen journalists who has captured these firsthand reactions in a podcast.

This article is sponsored by Rocket Ranch

One mom, wisely took her kids out of school for the day, and they were elated at the chance to see the launch so close up. For this mom’s young son, it was his birthday gift!

firsthand reactions to Starship booster catch at Rocket Ranch

Watch the Video on X (click on the link)

https://twitter.com/GailAlfarATX/status/1883538881649561877

Driving from Florida, this gentleman was highly inspired after the launch, his reaction almost brought tears to my eyes (watch in the podcast).

firsthand reactions to Starship booster catch at Rocket Ranch

From Austin Texas: “Musk is amazing!”

This article is sponsored by Rocket Ranch

firsthand reactions to Starship booster catch at Rocket Ranch

This dad plans to bring his kids to a future launch. “Seeing it in person gives a whole new perspective to the raw power!”

firsthand reactions to Starship booster catch at Rocket Ranch

From San Francisco: “I felt the ground shake to much this time!”

More Reactions From the First Booster Catch!

I was also present at the first SpaceX Starship Booster Catch in history! Watch, and enjoy. This was also a stunning interview.

Gail’s Podcast on 𝕏 Episode No. 92.5: Voices from the Booster Catch – Real Reactions

This article is sponsored by Rocket Ranch

FOR MEDIA USE ONLY News media is welcome to use my material in connection with a story or article. By downloading any content I create, you understand and hereby agree and represent that: (1) you are a member of the news media; (2) use of the content is in connection with a story or an article appearing in newspapers, periodicals, digital publications or television; (3) all images and rights thereto remain the property Gail Alfar.; and (4) use of the image is not for publication covers, advertising, promotion or otherwise for commercial purposes. Furthermore, use of any and all images and content appearing on this page must each include the notice “Courtesy of Gail Alfar” Use of materials copied from this website is at your own risk. You must obtain prior written consent from Gail Alfar for uses that exceed the above parameters.

Gail’s Tesla Podcast on 𝕏 Episode No. 72: Four Amazing Interviews at Starbase, Texas!

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Sit back and relax with this podcast episode. It has four amazing interviews in it.

First we will talk with the man behind the giant Elon Musk mural which is a massive meme in tribute to Elon’s ability to make humble jokes even about himself. Known as ElonRWA on X, and hailing from France, we will talk with the creator and get the inside story.

Second, you will meet a rocket expert named Grandpa Joe from Baton Rogue. As we stand right at the base of Starship, we discuss Elon Musk and trust me, the vibe is OUT OF THIS WORLD!

Third, meet a really sincere young man who owns a Cybertruck (now for rent) and a property rental startup where every place you stay can give you a view of the rocket factory at Starbase, Texas. You’ll love Starbnb.

Jessica Tetreau talks about SpaceX in Texas

Saving the BEST for last, we will hear the amazing Jessica Tetreau talk about the early days of SpaceX. This is truly a great woman who cares deeply about the people of Brownsville.

FOR MEDIA USE ONLY News media is welcome to use my material in connection with a story or article. By downloading any content I create, you understand and hereby agree and represent that: (1) you are a member of the news media; (2) use of the content is in connection with a story or an article appearing in newspapers, periodicals, digital publications or television; (3) all images and rights thereto remain the property Gail Alfar.; and (4) use of the image is not for publication covers, advertising, promotion or otherwise for commercial purposes. Furthermore, use of any and all images and content appearing on this page must each include the notice “Courtesy of Gail Alfar” Use of materials copied from this website is at your own risk. You must obtain prior written consent from Gail Alfar for uses that exceed the above parameters.

SECOND STARSHIP LAUNCH: HOW A LAUNCH TEST INSPIRES ALL AGES

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(S. Padre Island, Texas) Starship launched on 18 November out of Starbase and I joined thousands of people as the sun rose to reveal Starship across the bay. We all witnessed the fierce determination of an incredible launch test. I will share with you the inspiring thoughts of 4 people I met. 

Visitors and residents of all ages, woke up before dawn to walk in the dark to the beach to better grasp the magnitude of Starship. Everyone I spoke with came away feeling more hopeful than before about a future where we will make it to Mars. 

Moments before Starship Launch. Image by Gail Alfar.

A CHILD INSPIRED BY A GIFT FROM SPACEX

Six-year-old Grayson from Missouri was excited to show me a piece of tile from the heat shield of Starship. His Dad was in awe that SpaceX employees shared this with his family. The family let me open the plastic case up, take out the tile piece, and hold it. It was also emotional for me because I love those tiles so much. Grayson looked amazed too, then after a while, he said, “Can I give you one of my glow sticks?” 

There is a certain love that comes from the heart of the mission of SpaceX that rubs off on people when they see a launch. Grayson had that. When I asked him what he thought about the launch, he said he “loved all of it!”

NASA EMPLOYEES AT THE LAUNCH

I met several NASA employees at Isla Blanca, from lead engineers to a man who works in the warehouse. I talked with many, or rather, I listened to them. I walked away with the knowledge that they admire the speed of which SpaceX operates.

Gynn Shotwell, President and COO of SpaceX explains it this way,

“I do want to make something clear: SpaceX does have a lot of government business, but we execute in a commercial fashion.”

One NASA employee, Mike Pantaleo, brought his long lens camera, and told me, “I am capturing history.” Pantaleo admires the hard work of SpaceX employees, he explained to me that he deeply respects their valuable work. 

A TOAST TO STARSHIP ON SOUTH PADRE

“Here, here, take a picture of this,” the bartender at Josephine’s on S. Padre was injecting liquid smoke into a cup of ice and mixing a drink, as he placed a rocket pop on top, he said, “I created this myself, I wanted it to look like Starship!”  I loved the enthusiasm and laughter over breakfast on Saturday morning right after the launch. The restaurant was buzzing with excited people and the bartender added “Elon is cool!” I shared my just-taken video of the launch with a family from San Antonio who had arrived after the launch thinking it would happen later in the morning. Starship launched right on time, just moments after sunrise.  

SHARING ENTHUSIASM IS PRICELESS

David, an engineer from Dallas, told me he was drawn to the people at the launch because of the shared enthusiasm for discussing details about Starship and genuine support for Elon Musk. He said, “when I’m at work, my colleagues are great people and they also do not share my level of excitement, it is so nice to be with others who do!“

David had the ability to paint a picture with his words, and when he talked about the day when Starships would launch at the rate of 2-3 per day, I could see that future. That’s the future we need.

“With Starship, actually, more profound than the size, is the fact that it is designed to be fully and rapidly reusable. The reason for the absurd size is that we are trying to build something that is capable of creating a permanent base on the moon and a city on Mars. That’s why it’s so large. Otherwise, we could make it much smaller.” – Elon Musk, IAC Space Conference 2023

Image Starship Launch 2 Courtesy of Elon Musk.

GROK’S TAKE: IMPRESSIVE AMBITION, WOBBLY IN EXECUTION

Grok (the new AI from xAI) chimed in about the launch, humorously saying that the launch was, impressive in its ambition, but somewhat wobbly in execution. Grok added “The success of the launch brings us one step closer to the dream of making humanity a multi-planetary species. Just imagine, in a few centuries, we could have humans colonizing Mars, living in biodomes and eating space-grown potatoes. It’s enough to make one wonder if Elon Musk has a secret stash of Douglas Adams novels tucked away in his office.”

MY THOUGHTS 

The images in my mind of the starry morning dawn giving way to a bright sunrise, the warm waters on the beach, and the T-30-second countdown are part of what gives people of all ages immense hope for the future. The very sight of Starship pushing up, with so much mass, is both beautiful and fearsome. Leaving Starbase, I met over 40 Tesla owners at Superchargers in Alice who had been to the launch. This was no ordinary day, and we all knew it. The joy that comes with sharing the excitement of watching Starship launch is unlike anything else. I hope that you felt that joy in the live streams and the people you know here on X. This is the next best thing to being physically present at a launch! 

Crowds await Starship Launch 2. Image by Gail Alfar.

Space is big. Really big

“Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly hugely mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist, but that’s just peanuts to space.” – Hitchhiker’s Guide

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Article by Gail Alfar, please credit accordingly. Thanks to @SpaceX and @elonmusk

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Gail’s Tesla Podcast Episode No. 40 featuring: Starship Launch

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Image Courtesy SpaceX. This is Starship Launch 2 as seen from Isla Blanca Park on 11/18/23.

(South Padre Island, Texas) FSD beta takes you to SpaceX’s Starship launch with zero disengagement. It truly like a sci-fi future! Enjoy the podcast!

Gail Alfar, author. Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – All Rights Reserved. My goal as an author and podcaster is to support Tesla (the most American vehicle manufacturer) and Elon Musk in both making life better on Earth for humans and becoming a space-fairing civilization.