Latest news with #CameronCounty
CNN
27-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
SpaceX is poised to launch the ninth test flight of its Starship megarocket
Update: Date: Title: Voters recently made SpaceX's "Starbase" facilities an actual Texas town Content: SpaceX's Starship facilities lie at the end of a narrow Texas roadway on the state's southernmost tip. This once serene stretch of untouched coastline, which for decades has drawn local residents to enjoy the beach, is now a bustling hive of activity as SpaceX manufactures, transports, and tests its towering Starship rockets, which stand more than 400 feet tall when fully assembled. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has for years teased the idea of making the area an official town — and earlier this month, voters did just that. Residents of the area, primarily company employees, approved the creation of a Starbase town with a 212-to-6 vote. Incorporating Starbase could grant SpaceX more authority over its own operations. 'This is what one would probably call a company town,' Eddie Treviño, the Cameron County Judge, told CNN. Company towns — where residents are largely reliant on a company for housing, employment and services — were more prevalent in the 19th and 20th centuries during the Industrial Revolution. Treviño said it's still unclear which types of government functions — such as police, emergency, and permitting services — Starbase will take on. Once incorporated, municipalities are also required to hold public meetings, according to state law. SpaceX engineer Bobby Penden will serve as mayor of Starbase. Update: Date: Title: SpaceX will not attempt an eye-catching booster landing today Content: SpaceX is using a pre-flown Super Heavy rocket booster for the first time today. And the company is expecting this to be the second and last flight for this 232-foot-tall booster, which gives the launch system its first burst of power at liftoff and vaults the Starship spacecraft toward space. Rather than steering Super Heavy back to a landing, the vehicle will take on a several 'flight experiments,' according to SpaceX, to test the limits of the booster and figure out how it will operate in less-than-ideal scenarios. 'One of the three center engines used for the final phase of landing will be intentionally disabled to gather data on the ability for a backup engine from the middle ring to complete a landing burn,' the company said. The vehicle is expected to make a hard landing in the Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump recently renamed the Gulf of America. Update: Date: Title: SpaceX kicks off livestream of tonight's launch Content: A webcast of tonight's launch attempt just kicked off. Hosting the stream are SpaceX engineer Jessie Anderson and spokesperson Dan Huot. The stream is being broadcast on X, the social media site that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk purchased for $44 billion in 2022. Update: Date: Title: The FAA has been in touch with at-risk islands Content: In January, Starship's in-flight failure showered debris over Turks and Caicos. A car was struck during the event, the FAA confirmed at the time. (There were no reported injuries.) Then, another Starship test flight in March ended in an explosive mishap. Debris wound up in the sparsely populated Crooked Island of the Bahamas. SpaceX says it helped with cleanup after both failures. CNN's reporting has shown that residents of Turks and Caicos handled much of the cleanup effort after the January failure, and environmentalists still have deep concerns about the impact. For its part, the Bahamian government also issued a notice Monday warning the public that another Starship test would soon be underway. The statement also acknowledged that local authorities do not have a say in when or if Starship flies. 'According to SpaceX, the planned flight trajectory of this Starship is several hundred thousand feet above Bahamian airspace, and therefore does not require approval of Bahamas authorities,' the statement reads. The United States' Federal Aviation Administration — however — does have that authority. Its decision to allow Starship to fly does involve calculating risks to people and property. Specifically, SpaceX must map out 'hazard areas sufficient to ensure that the probability of casualty to a member of the public on land or on board a maritime vessel does not exceed one in one million,' according to the FAA statement. In a May 22 email, the FAA also said it has been in close contact with islands at risk of being impacted by Starship debris, including the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos. Update: Date: Title: SpaceX is hashing out an upgraded Starship design Content: After notching three mostly successful test flights in 2024, Starship has been off to a rocky start in 2025 with two explosive failures. One key factor could be at play: The company debuted a new version of the Starship spacecraft ahead of January's Flight 7. The upgrades included a 25% larger fuel tank, brand new avionics and upgraded flight computers. After the mid-flight failures of Flight 7 and Flight 8 in March — both of which ended in explosions less than 10 minutes after launch — the company has rolled out even more tweaks and upgrades in the hopes that it can get Starship to survive farther into its flight path. Among many incremental changes put in place since January: The company said it altered lines that feed fuel to some of the Starship's engines, tweaked propellant temperatures and adjusted the vehicle's 'operating thrust target.' Mission teams also installed a new 'purge system' that uses nitrogen to help flush out fuel leaks, and, most recently, put 'additional preload on key joints' — which basically means tightening up some screws. However, even if Starship makes it further into its mission today — surviving its full engine burn and reaching the Indian Ocean — SpaceX might not be banking on the idea that the vehicle will make a controlled landing. The company has opted to remove some of the vehicle's protective heat shield in an effort to 'stress test' the vehicle, which means engineers are hoping to figure out exactly when and how hardware might fail to get a better fundamental understanding of how the materials behave. Update: Date: Title: Starship is "Go" for propellant load Content: SpaceX just confirmed that it has given the green light to start filling up the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket booster with fuel. That's a good indication that weather is looking good and engineers aren't tracking any major issues with the vehicle. The Starship team is go for prop load Together, Starship and Super Heavy can hold more than 10 million pounds of liquid oxygen and methane. Propellant loading of the Starship will end about three and a half minutes before takeoff, and Super Heavy will get its last top off at just under three minutes until the countdown clock strikes zero. Update: Date: Title: Starship will attempt to deploy dummy satellites Content: One of the most interesting goals SpaceX has planned for today's test flight: Starship will attempt to deploy eight satellite 'simulators' from the Starship spacecraft. The company had hoped to test out how Starship would accomplish such task during Flight 7 in January and Flight 8 in March. But the spacecraft abruptly exploded about 10 minutes into each of those missions. SpaceX said the satellite simulators used on today's flight will be 'similar in size' to the company's next generation of Starlink internet satellites, hashing out how Starship may take over launch tasks from Falcon 9, SpaceX's workhorse rockets. Because Starship is not equipped with a nose cone, or payload fairing, as most other rockets are, the satellites will need to be ejected from a special hatch. Take note, however, that this is all just a test. The satellite simulators will not stay in space. Instead, they'll travel on a suborbital path, much like the Starship spacecraft itself, which is slated to splash down in the Indian Ocean about one hour after takeoff. Update: Date: Title: Starship has impacted airlines — and travelers Content: After SpaceX's Starship Flight 8 exploded just minutes into flight in March, the FAA implemented a Debris Response Area — a designated section of airspace that regulators lock down if an in-flight failure occurs. The expanded airspace closure resulted in 171 departure delays for aircraft. That included an average flight delay of 28 minutes, 28 flight diversions, and 40 aircraft already in flight that were held an average of 22 minutes. For Flight 9, routine airspace closures (not including a potential Debris Response Area) that are locked down ahead of launch could affect as many as 175 flights, according to the FAA. And all these disruptions cost money — to airlines and passengers, according to regulators. The agency estimates that delays cost travelers about $50 per hour and cost passenger airlines as much as $100.80 per minute, or $6,048.00 per hour per delayed flight. Update: Date: Title: Here's why SpaceX is ok with blowing up rockets Content: SpaceX embraces a development philosophy called 'rapid iterative development.' The underlying idea is that engineers can figure out the best rocket design more quickly and effectively by simply putting early iterations of the vehicle through test flights, accepting the risk that some may blow up. Starship is still in early development — hence the two recent explosions during test flights. But in a broad sense, the 'rapid iterative development' approach has been effective. Rarely has a SpaceX rocket malfunctioned once it leaves the design stage and becomes operational. And the company's human spaceflight track record — using Falcon 9 rockets — has been spotless. Additionally, SpaceX rockets are famously far cheaper than anything else on the market. Notably, the company's engineering approach stands in stark contrast to NASA's. The space agency has emphasized lengthy design processes and rigorous ground testing, aiming to all but guarantee success on the first flight attempt. NASA's method has drawn criticism — most recently because the Space Launch System rocket, which made its flight debut in 2022, is billions over budget and faced years of delays. SpaceX's approach, which has led to many explosive mishaps, has its own detractors. Environmentalists and residents of South Texas, where the company's Starship development facilities are located, as well as people living in Turks and Caicos, where a prior failure rained debris, are concerned about the risks to humans and the planet. In a May 22 statement, SpaceX spelled out its case for sticking with its build-and-fly approach: By putting hardware into a real-world environment as frequently as possible, while still maximizing controls for public safety, progress can be made to achieve the goal of flying a reliable, fully and rapidly reusable rocket. Update: Date: Title: SpaceX will attempt another nail-biting "chopsticks" booster catch Content: SpaceX will once again aim to return the Super Heavy booster — the bottommost part of the Starship system equipped with more than 30 engines — back to a safe landing at the launch tower mere minutes after liftoff. The efforts to safely land and recover the Super Heavy rocket after launch are becoming more crucial as SpaceX takes its first steps toward reusing the massive booster. Today's flight, for example, will mark the first time SpaceX has attempted to reuse an entire booster. The 171-foot-tall (52-meter-tall) vehicle, which towers about as high as a 17-story building, that will be used on this mission was previously recovered after a January launch. Static fire of the Super Heavy preparing to launch Starship's ninth flight test. This booster previously launched and returned on Flight 7 and 29 of its 33 Raptor engines are flight proven With past recovery attempts, the booster has veered back toward SpaceX's launch tower, steering itself into the arms of 'Mechazilla' — a massive structure named for its likeness to a metallic Godzilla that the company designed to catch rockets midair. The company won't attempt a booster landing today. Update: Date: Title: SpaceX is reusing a Super Heavy rocket booster today. It's a big step toward a key goal Content: For the first time ever, SpaceX is using a pre-flown Super Heavy rocket booster on today's test flight. The 232-foot-tall (71-meter) Super Heavy that will blast the Starship craft toward space was previously flown — and recaptured — after a launch in January. All but four of the vehicle's engines were also part of that January flight. Attempting to reuse a Super Heavy booster is a huge step for SpaceX. For the vast majority of spaceflight history, rocket parts have been discarded — left to break apart or fall into the ocean after doing their job of delivering a spacecraft or satellite to space. But SpaceX has long made reusability part of its corporate identity. The goal is to recover, refurbish and refly as much of a rocket as possible to save money, drastically driving down the cost per launch. The company has already made waves in that effort with the Falcon 9, its workhorse rocket, which is roughly 80% reusable. Starship aims to go a step further, achieving nearly 100% reusability. 'To achieve this first ever reflight (of a Starship Super Heavy booster), extensive inspections took place following the booster's first launch to assess hardware health and identify where maintenance or replacement hardware was needed. Known single-use components like ablative heat-shielding were replaced, but a large majority of the booster's hardware will be flight-proven, including 29 of its 33 Raptor engine,' SpaceX said in a statement. Update: Date: Title: SpaceX says it knows what went wrong with the last Starship flight Content: The last two Starship test flights ended with explosive failures near islands just east of Florida. An investigation into the most recent mishap in March is ongoing. But SpaceX says it knows what went wrong. The Super Heavy booster, which provides the initial burst of power at liftoff, and the upper 171-foot (52-meter) Starship spacecraft took off with no obvious issues. After the Super Heavy burned through most of its fuel, it separated from the Starship and landed successfully in the arms of SpaceX's 'Mechazilla' launch tower. But a few engines flamed out on the way home. SpaceX said the 'most probable cause' was an ignition issue caused by abnormal thermal conditions, the company said in a May 22 statement. Separately — and more significantly — an engine of the upper Starship spacecraft, often referred to as just the 'ship,' exploded just minutes after separating from Super Heavy. Ground controllers lost contact with the vehicle, likely triggering the vehicle's automatic, emergency self-destruct feature. The likely cause of the mishap, according to SpaceX, was 'a hardware failure' in one of the ship's six engines. That issue likely led to 'inadvertent propellant mixing and ignition' — setting off an explosion in that engine. The March failure occurred at a similar point in Starship's flight path to that of the January mishap. That's when a fire broke out in the vehicle's 'attic' section that led to the vehicle to explode over Turks and Caicos. But SpaceX said the issues affecting the March and January test flights were different: January's issues centered on 'harmonic response' — or harsh vibrations — and 'flammability.' Those problems were mitigated during the March test flight, according to SpaceX. The fixes implemented before today's flight, however, included putting 'additional preload on key joints.' That basically means tightening up some screws. Update: Date: Title: An investigation into Starship's March failure is ongoing Content: Before each Starship test flight, SpaceX needs explicit approval from federal regulators because of the risky nature of these missions. And the Federal Aviation Administration gave the green light for this launch despite the fact that an investigation into what went wrong during Starship's explosive failure during Flight 8 in March remains open. The FAA said it gave SpaceX the go-ahead after determining that the company had met 'all of the rigorous safety, environmental and other licensing requirements.' It's not the first time the FAA has allowed SpaceX to launch another Starship flight with an open investigation on the books. A probe into what went wrong during Flight 7 in January, which rained debris over Turks and Caicos that even struck a car on one of the islands, was ongoing when SpaceX launched Flight 8. Update: Date: Title: Elon Musk is set to give a Starship update post-launch Content: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had been slated to deliver a speech to employees titled, 'The road to making life multiplanetary' around 1 p.m. ET. But Musk abruptly changed those plans, opting to give the speech after tonight's test flight. The event will be livestreamed on Musk's social media platform, X. This talk is postponed until after the Starship Flight 9 launch tonight Musk has given showy updates about Starship and his long-term vision for the rocket — carrying convoys of humans to establish a settlement on Mars — every few years since 2016. During such speeches, Musk tends to tick through some of the same talking points, emphasizing his view that humans need to live on other worlds in order to ensure survival of the species if a catastrophic event makes our planet unlivable. 'There's always some chance that something could go wrong on Earth. The dinosaurs are not around anymore,' Musk said during one such speech in 2022. Update: Date: Title: Here's what to expect during today's flight Content: After two very public and explosive failures, SpaceX is once again ready to send one of its Starship vehicles on a test flight. Success is not guaranteed this time, either. But the company is hoping to take some significant steps forward. Engineers have made changes to address loose hardware, propellant leaks and other issues that plagued the most recent test flights in January and March. And for the first time ever, SpaceX is reusing a Super Heavy rocket booster, the bottommost portion of the Starship system, after successfully recovering the 232-foot-tall (71-meter) vehicle during the January test flight. The hope today is that Starship, the spacecraft that rides atop Super Heavy, makes it a bit further into flight after exploding about 10 minutes into its last two missions. Here's a quick look at what's ahead:
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Fear, hope and loathing in Elon Musk's new city: ‘It's the wild, wild west and the future'
Along a flat coastal highway in south-east Texas, surrounded by wetlands and open plains, the artefacts of a new American oligarchy appear in quick succession. Three towering rockets stand upright on the horizon. A fleet of Tesla Cybertrucks speeds by. A large mural of the Shiba Inu 'doge' dog stares ahead, its arms crossed. There is a 12ft-tall bust of the world's richest person, painted in bronze, facing a dusty roadside. 'ELON aka MemeLord', a plaque beneath reads. It's not exactly romantic poetry, but the whole scene reminds me of the sonnet by Shelley: 'Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!' While old Ozymandias may have seen his fiefdoms crumble, Elon Musk's empire is possibly only just beginning. Here in Cameron County, on the southern tip of the Lone Star state, where Google Maps proudly displays the newly declared 'Gulf of America' just offshore, Musk has situated his self-described mission to save humanity and populate Mars. Just a few miles from his painted bust is the Starbase industrial complex, a rocket-manufacturing facility and launch arena, which commands the vista for miles. It is also the site of the multibillionaire's latest venture to acquire even more political power. Fresh from an extended stay in Washington as the de facto leader of the government-slashing, conflict-of-interest-riddled, so-called 'department of government efficiency' (Doge), Musk has returned in time to see Starbase become its own city. We are here shortly before the vote, where there is little doubt that the 280 eligible voters (the vast majority of whom are employed by or connected to Musk's space exploration company SpaceX) will approve the incorporation of a new, 4 sq km (1.6 sq mile) municipality. There remain many questions about why the company, which did not respond to any of my written questions and interview requests, would move for such recognition. It brings limited local powers, including the ability to impose minor property taxes and grant building permits, as well as the mandate to create its own fire department and – to some alarm – police department. And yet, as the US lurches further into what many describe as an era of norm-shattering digital dystopia under the second presidency of Donald Trump, the goings-on here, in this remote enclave by the US-Mexico border, already bring a sense of grizzly prescience. As we pull off the highway into the Starbase neighbourhood (Boca Chica village, before the vote), we are trailed almost instantly by two white security trucks with flashing yellow lights. We drive along the main residential drag, where dozens of shiny, silver Airstream trailers – housing for SpaceX staff – sit in neat symmetry. We pass the newly renamed 'Memes Street' (formerly it was Weems Street), marked with a black street sign accompanied by a small image of Musk's pioneering Starship rocket. On the adjacent LBJ Boulevard, lined with modest homes and customised Cybertrucks parked outside, we pass what is reportedly Musk's personal residence, a small bungalow winged by a high black fence. As I get out, I chat with the security guard who has trailed us for the past five minutes. He informs me with a smile that while the roads may be public, if I step on to the front lawns of any of the homes, he'll seek to have me arrested. 'It's private property,' he says. Time to leave. While downtown Starbase may be a little averse to visitors, it's a different story in the ranchlands outside. Musk founded the facility in late 2014, and its rapid expansion in recent years has drawn a small platoon of Mars obsessives to the area. A few miles away from the production site, at a staging location seen in the distance, a Starship rocket is preparing for a static engine test. Clouds of vapour cascade from the 170ft vehicle, and small groups of awestruck spectators congregate at intervals on the roadside. Many are livestreamers and photographers who document the minutiae of Starbase's activities in extraordinary detail; surveying the serial numbers of components, the progress of launchpad construction and the particulars of planning documents, to assess when the next Starship launch is likely to take place. 'When you're standing here it's a weird combination of the wild, wild west and the brand new future,' says a livestreamer named Caesar G, who works for an independent YouTube channel called NASASpaceflight, which has 1.32 million subscribers. He's focusing a long lens camera on the testing taking place a few miles away, arms flailing with excitement. 'Take the politics out of everything,' he says. 'This is the coolest thing that's going on, engineering-wise. We are catching rockets!' While there is no doubt that the midair mechanical capture of a 232ft rocket booster, as happened here first in October of last year, is an extraordinary technological achievement, I do wonder how it is possible to distinguish it from politics, given the company's owner is also accused of making a fascist salute during Donald Trump's second inauguration. Shaun Gisler, a self-described 'aerospace histographer', who is also livestreaming at the roadside, chimes in on this point. 'He's accused of a lot of things,' Gisler says. 'A lot of that is just white noise. I'm looking at the result out here and I'm seeing success. We're hoping this gets to a point where it becomes so big, it helps bridge the [political] gap.' The full engine test does not happen for another five hours, but both men are committed to waiting out in the humidity to film it. We drive a little farther inland to meet with Anthony Gomez, a manager of the Rocket Ranch campground, which caters to hundreds of travelling space tourists every year. Gomez moved here in 2021, abandoning his life in Florida to witness what he believes are the beginnings of a programme that will save humanity. We head to a viewing platform which commands an uninterrupted view of the launchpads and is fronted by a fire trench designed to protect visitors in the wake of a catastrophic rocket explosion. He wells up describing the feeling of watching a takeoff here. 'Every cell and molecule is shaking with some form of elation,' he says. 'It is overwhelming. It's the apex of human technology. And when that thing takes off, somehow that is communicated. Somehow that information is delivered into your heart.' At the ranch, a cabin displays fragments of recovered Starship debris, and a large mural recreates Michelangelo's 'The Creation of Adam', replacing God's finger with one belonging to a Tesla humanoid robot named Optimus. We are meeting just days after a federal budget proposal by the Trump administration advances crippling cuts to low-income housing assistance while greenlighting a $1bn investment in Mars programmes, which is likely to benefit Musk. Gomez, who does not identify as a Trump supporter, is unfazed by the apparent cronyism, arguing that homelessness is 'the average human's responsibility', not that of the government. Plus, he argues, space exploration may one day allow us to retrieve gold- and platinum-encrusted asteroids to cure global poverty. 'There are asteroids floating around in space that can make the entire world wealthy,' he claims. He acknowledges that the technology to receive such a planetary boon is probably centuries away, but argues that the new private space race should 'give people a focus of hope'. It can be hard to unpick the politics here; a mixture of right-leaning libertarianism that feels largely mainstream, and visions of a tech utopia that seem more grounded in science fiction than reality. 'If you want to take people to Mars, it's going to include everyone on Earth,' Gomez says when I ask about Musk's clear nods to white nationalism. 'Why would you have any specific hate towards anybody?' Sign up to TechScape A weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our lives after newsletter promotion There are, of course, many expert scientific critics of Musk's highly ambitious Mars plan, which has humans reaching the planet before the end of this decade. How would astronauts be protected from cosmic radiation during the journey and while exploring the red planet? How would Starship refuel for a return trip? Can SpaceX even get Starship to orbit Earth in the first place? (The last two launches have ended in explosive failure.) But perhaps the most pressing question is why humanity would want to spend trillions of dollars on such a project while pervasive crises on Earth persist. You don't need to look far in Cameron County to see this rammed home. This is a low-income, majority Latino community of just over 400,000 people, where almost a quarter of residents live below the poverty line. In the county's main population hub, Brownsville, disdain for the Starbase facility and its impending city status seems to be the predominant view. While Musk's foundation has made charitable donations to the local school system and downtown revitalisation efforts, many people I speak to have seen little positive impact. Some complain that their homes shake during launches. Others say that the arrival of heavy industry has beaten up the county highways with little sign of repair. More object to ongoing gentrification. Josette Cruz, a local organiser and lifelong Brownsville resident, points to soaring housing costs associated with an influx of new residents tied to SpaceX expansion and increased tourism. Her rent, she says, has risen from $725 a month to an almost unaffordable $1,000 in just a few years. Realtor signs now spring up in her neighbourhood with images of cartoon rockets. 'The fact that people can come here and say, 'We're going to have our own election, we're going to build our own town', what kind of mentality says that, if not one that is rooted in a colonial, settler mindset?' she says, shrugging. 'They want to go to Mars to colonise it.' We take a trip back out past the Starbase facility to Boca Chica beach, a public state park just a few hundred feet from the Starship launch pads. The juxtaposition here is stark. Warnings not to disturb the nesting grounds of the critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle are stationed across the beach entrance, framed by the giant launch pads and frantic construction work just metres away. In September last year SpaceX was fined almost $150,000 by the Environmental Protection Agency for spewing hundreds of thousands of gallons of polluted wastewater on to the surrounding wetlands after rocket launches. It is a charge the company has continued to deny. We meet local environmentalist Bekah Hinojosa, who in 2022 was arrested by local police over alleged involvement in the graffiti found on a Musk-sponsored mural in Brownsville. The three words, written in blue, read: 'gentrified stop spaceX'. Hinojosa was apprehended in her pyjamas after plain-clothed officers arrived at her doorstep. Three years later, having pleaded not guilty to a class three misdemeanor, she is still awaiting a trial date. Like many generational residents, Hinojosa's family have visited this beach for decades, coming to fish at the shoreline and enjoy the tranquillity. But every launch now means a beach closure, and many fear the incorporation of Starbase city will lead to further restrictions on access. 'Using a low-income community for experimental rocket testing is another example of environmental racism,' she says, as a group of sandpiper birds paddle in the surf nearby. 'Billionaires should not own a beach. We will continue speaking up because, for us, it's about continuing to exist here.' Just coming down to the water's edge can now feel like an act of resistance, it seems. The morning of the Starbase vote brings with it dark skies and torrential rain. We make a final trip to the complex and stand in the drizzle outside the polling station. It's a cafeteria open only to SpaceX employees, but a small huddle of journalists seems to keep the security guards away this time. Most voters say they have been told by their employer not to talk to the press. But a stroke of luck allows us to meet one of the handful of residents who cast a ballot in opposition. She is one of the few hold-out residents, still living in a privately owned home on Memes Street. I can only imagine what it must be like to have your permanent address changed to a sophomoric joke. 'I was here before SpaceX and I have no loyalty issues,' she says after casting her ballot and declining to be named. I ask how she feels about populating Mars. She grimaces and walks away. The vote ends up passing by a majority of 212 to six. A 97% margin. The city's new mayor, Robert Peden, is a SpaceX vice-president. He ran unopposed. Three days later the Federal Aviation Authority, an agency previously purged by Doge, approves an aggressive new SpaceX flight programme that will allow the company to quintuple its annual launches from five to 25. The next Starship is scheduled to take off later this week. Its hulking steel shell glistens in the rain as we drive away.
Fast Company
21-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
In rural Texas, where Elon Musk lives, his DOGE cuts are devastating local residents
Elon Musk's SpaceX employees voted this month to make their small community on the southeastern tip of Texas its own city, with a mayor and city commissioners. But the rest of the tech billionaire's neighbors near the newly incorporated Starbase in rural Cameron County, where he lives in a home on the outskirts of Brownsville, are not so thrilled with his activities as a businessman and now as head of the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency. Residents have long complained about the environmental impact of SpaceX's rocket launches, which rain debris like sheet metal and pieces of concrete on beaches and have caused wildfires. Now, Musk's DOGE is having a major impact in the county and the rest of South Texas, an area with higher rates of poverty and less access to resources than much of the rest of the state—the initiative's budget cutbacks have resulted in reduced funding for area food banks, fewer staffers at VA facilities to provide health care to veterans, and the termination of grants for students seeking internships, among other cuts. 'We've been forcibly made into Elon Musk's backyard against our will,' said Bekah Hinojosa, a local environmental activist. 'Everyone in this region is constantly in survival mode, no matter who's in office. Right now I don't have health care, for example. Most of us are already dealing with problems. And now to have these new problems added to the existing problems.' Rene Medrano, a longtime Brownsville resident who retired as the high school's longtime football coach with seven trips to the playoffs, said Musk was welcomed when he first arrived in the area due to the influx of jobs and economic activity. But as SpaceX grew and rocket launches started damaging the environment, often cutting off access to local beaches, he grew more critical. 'People are up in arms because of the access to the beach,' he said. He hears from neighbors about the local impacts of DOGE. 'I know it's hurting people and I know it's affecting people,' Medrano said. 'And I know it's going to continue if they keep cutting the way they're cutting. It's very obvious. How can it not affect you?' The Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley serves meals to 88,000 people every week in Cameron, Willacy, and Hidalgo counties, with half of its funding coming from federal programs. Recently, 23 truckloads of food on their way to the food bank were cancelled due to DOGE cuts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 'This cancellation could not have come at a worse time, with the recent flooding event that we experienced and the summer vacation at our doorstep,' food bank official Omar Rodriguez told 'The food bank helps a lot of people in the valley,' said Hinojosa, who said she worked as a volunteer there during the pandemic. 'There are always long lines outside, especially now after the flooding. A lot of people are hungry.' A White House official told Capital & Main that the USDA 'has not and will not lose focus on its core mission of strengthening food security, supporting agricultural markets, and ensuring access to nutritious foods.' The official noted that in March, the agency 'released over half a billion in previously obligated funds for Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA), LFPA for Tribes, and the Local Food for Schools program to fulfill existing commitments and support ongoing local food purchases.' Elsewhere in the region, just a week after 20 students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley learned they'd be part of a museum internship program that included funds for housing, transportation, and their work, they found out the federally funded grant had been terminated due to DOGE's cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), an independent federal agency. 'We all felt devastated,' Stephanie Álvarez, a professor of Mexican American Studies at the school, told 'Because students don't have this opportunity … We were just stunned because we put a lot of effort into it but also because all of these students expecting to go have these internships and that possibly doesn't exist anymore unless we find at least $60,000.' And changes at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, where DOGE plans to cut about 15% of the workforce, are also having an impact in South Texas—such as at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System in San Antonio, which is considered the fastest-growing VA network in the country. In February, the agency fired workers at hospitals and clinics across the state, including in San Antonio, Austin, and Houston, though it rehired them in the wake of a lawsuit filed by multiple unions representing federal employees. And now it's slowing down the hiring of new employees even as the number of veterans in the region who need health care keeps growing, say veterans. A spokesperson for the VA said, 'We're going to maintain VA's mission-essential jobs like doctors, nurses and claims processors, while phasing out non-mission essential roles like DEI officers. The savings we achieve will be redirected to veteran health care and benefits.' In an email to Capital & Main, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly replied: 'DOGE's work to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse is streamlining federal services to the benefit all Americans—especially our Veterans, who have endured decades of VA bureaucracy and bloat that has hindered their ability to receive timely and quality care. President Trump is restoring accountability to taxpayers, which ultimately strengthens federal programs for those in need.' 'We're hurting,' said Don Edge, a Navy vet and AFL-CIO official based in San Antonio who represents many workers at the agency. 'I've got grown men and women coming into my office and they're in tears, saying that they can't keep up with the demand.' The cuts of probationary employees and reduced hiring of new employees have resulted in extended waiting times and relocation of veterans to facilities far from their homes, said Edge. 'I'm a veteran myself, and to not be able to have services or have services delayed because of these cuts is horrible.' As an example, Edge cited Villa Serena, a treatment center for veterans with mental health or substance use issues. 'They cut the number of beds by 35%-40%, and they're sending the patients hundreds of miles to other VA facilities in Waco and Temple—where they're on their own, without friends and family nearby, while they struggle with these issues.' A spokesperson for the VA said that the facility decreased beds at Villa Serena from 66 to 45 'to offer more recovery-oriented care for veterans seeking treatment for substance use disorders.' She added: 'By reducing the amount of available beds, space has been converted into a small gym, meditation room, and an admission waiting area allowing more privacy during the admission process.' The spokesperson said that 'there is no data supporting claims of extended wait times or wait times lasting 3-4 months, and if you report otherwise, you will be spreading disinformation.' Edge insisted that waiting times 'have been worse since Trump took office.' He added, 'If I was to call right now and ask for a dental appointment, I don't know when I'd have it.' To highlight the urgency of the issue and the need for services, Edge said that a veteran with mental health issues killed himself with a gunshot to the head outside the doors of the Audie Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital in San Antonio a few weeks ago, which reminded him of a spate of suicides on VA campuses in 2017 and 2018 during earlier rounds of budget cuts. 'I've been here for 22 years and this is the worst it's ever been.'
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Andy Bowie Park on South Padre Island closing for a seaside makeover
Feb. 4—Andy Bowie County Park is seen in this undated photo. (Courtesy: Cameron County) Cameron County has announced the temporary closure of Andy Bowie Park, 7300 State Park Rd. at County Beach Access No. 2 on South Padre Island, in order to carry out demolition and replacement of existing dilapidated structures. A groundbreaking ceremony for the major rehabilitation project is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, with the park's closure to begin Thursday. The county said the park would be closed "until further notice," but also said the new construction should take no longer than a year to complete. The county said its recent decision to close the existing pavilion on the park's south end due to safety concerns was soon followed by the decision to completely rehab the park with necessary improvements in order to better serve visitors for generations to come. The proposed improvements include razing two existing covered pavilions, which have exceeded their serviceable life and are no longer safe for occupancy, and replacing them with new "elevated plaza pavilions" featuring picnic tables and environmentally friendly lighting, according to the county. Existing restroom/bath house facilities, concession buildings and an office building likewise will be refurbished and upgraded, as will an on-site park ranger station, the county said. Andy Bowie's south parking lot will receive an overlay to prolong its serviceable life, and a pedestrian walkway/beach access with rinse stations will be added, according to the county. "Aesthetic improvements such as landscaping are also included in the overall design and construction of the project," the county said. "Weather permitting, the construction should be completed in 8-12 months." County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. said the county's SPI parks provide an "array of amenities and recreational opportunities" and that he's excited to see the improvements to Andy Bowie and other coastal parks in the county park system. Precinct 1 County Commissioner Sofia Benavides also said she's looking forward to upgrades at Andy Bowie. "The improvements to this popular beach access area will result in positive changes that children and families will benefit from for years to come," she said. Benavides expressed gratitude to Treviño and the commissioners court "for their vision and commitment to enhancing public beach access opportunities," noting that the county has invested more than $40 million in coastal park improvements in recent years. Parks Director Joe Vega said the park improvements will make the facilities safer as well as more enjoyable for the public. The current structures at Andy Bowie were built in 1994. The county estimated that redeveloping Andy Bowie will cost approximately $6.9 million, with the improvements being funded with money from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021, SpaceX and county certificates of obligation. The architect on the project is Gomez Mendez Saenz Inc. The engineering firm is RRP Consulting Engineers, the structural engineering firm Green, Rubiano & Associates Inc., and the construction general contractor A&I Custom Manufacturing LLC. Andy Bowie, named for a county commissioner who served in the 1950s, is the second SPI park in the county park system, after Isla Blanca on SPI's southern tip, according to the U.S. Senate Congressional Record of Nov. 5, 1963. Andy Bowie was completely undeveloped until that year, when a 500-foot fishing pier with 200-foot T-head at the end was built by a private company operating under a lease from the county, according to the document. "At the entrance to the pier is a concession and bait stand, built out over the water, where the general beach-going public as well as the pier-fishing clientele can have sandwiches and what-have-you while enjoying the splendid vista of the waves rolling in below, with the unbroken and seemingly endless sweep of Padre Island stretched out beyond," it says. Featured Local Savings
