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What is STARBASE?
Boca Chica, Texas
We drove east on Highway 4 from Brownsville, Texas aiming for Boca Chica Beach, and the road became desolate with a lot of potholes in it and sand blown across it. In the distance we saw buildings and thought at first there must be hotels out on the beach or something.
We came upon some construction workers fixing one side of the road and after leaving the road construction behind us came closer to the buildings. We saw rockets and a lot of employee vehicles. Then I saw the sign — STARBASE.
I thought maybe it had something to do with NASA, so of course I looked it up and found out that STARBASE stands for “Science and Technology Academies Reinforcing Basic Aviation and Space Exploration.” In a nutshell, it is a non-governmental spaceport, production, and development facility for Starship Rockets.
It is the world’s first true spaceport and it is located in Boca Chica, Texas.
We drove by slowly and took lots of pictures. We went on out to Boca Chica Beach and I saw a sign warning that the area was a sensitive wildlife habitat (for sea turtles) and was not to be used as a SpaceX viewing area. This secluded beach and dune area is home to endangered sea turtles who nest from April to September.
Okay, so what is SpaceX?
SpaceX is owned by Elon Musk and this Starbase facility is home to the next generation Starship rocket factory and launch pads. It currently employs 1,600 people. There is no way to tour the facility. (I checked.) It is known as the “Gateway to Mars” and within the next decade the first manned mission to Mars will launch from this site.
I think I would like to come back and watch that for myself.
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