Elon Musk, the company’s founder, has a vision for SpaceX’s presence in Texas, where the company is quickly developing (and rapidly exploding) Starship spacecraft prototypes. Over the next several years, he expects the city, which he has called Starbase, to rise by several thousand people.
Musk appealed to engineers, technicians, and designers to move to Texas and join SpaceX on Tuesday. “Please consider moving to Starbase or greater Brownsville/South Padre area in Texas and encourage friends to do so!” Musk sent out a tweet.
Starbase will grow by several thousand people over the next year or two
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 30, 2021
“Essential support personnel of all kinds.” Musk said. SpaceX is recruiting engineers, chefs, safety workers, welders, security officers, supervisors, and crane operators, according to a quick search of available vacancies in Brownsville.
Musk also revealed in a tweet on Tuesday that he would donate $20 million to Cameron County schools and $10 million to Brownsville’s downtown to help revitalize the area. He promised more specifics the following week.
Am donating $20M to Cameron County schools & $10M to City of Brownsville for downtown revitalization. Details to follow next week.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 30, 2021
The City of Brownsville’s Twitter account reacted positively to the story, tweeting, “On the border, by the sea and beyond! Grateful for your support in making Brownsville a launching pad to Mars.”
On the border, by the sea and BEYOND! Grateful for your support in making #Brownsville a launching pad to Mars. We look forward to continuing to work with @elonmusk and @SpaceX! #WeLoveThisCity #VisitBTX #SpaceX #NewSpaceCity #RGV #BTX https://t.co/Fplt2xwmty
— City of Brownsville (@BTxRGV) March 30, 2021
On the same day that SpaceX’s new Starship concept, SN11, crashed during a test flight, a sequence of tweets about hiring and donations went out. SpaceX is now working on preventing the test vehicles from exploding in mid-flight or immediately after landing. The crash of SN11 managed to spray debris over a large field.
There have been several reports that Musk and SpaceX plan to turn a portion of Texas into a hive of space operations. Aside from research and development, the corporation seems to want to create a “21st-century Spaceport” resort in Texas.
If all goes according to schedule, SpaceX’s Starbase could live up to its sci-fi name.
