SpaceX Starbase

In 2012, SpaceX named the Boca Chica area as a possible location for the construction of their future private commercial launch site. In August 2014, SpaceX announced that they had selected the area as the location for their South Texas Launch Site, and that their "control center" would actually be on land within the Boca Chica Village, while the launch complex would be located two miles to the east. Limited construction began that year,^[11][5] but more extensive construction activities did not begin until approximately 2018. By May 2018, the site was expected to be used exclusively for launches of the SpaceX second-generation fully-reusable launch vehicle (which was eventually named SpaceX Starship in late 2018), and the launch complex was no longer planned to become a third launch site for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy.^[12]

Flight testing of the Starship second stage, with the newly designed Raptor rocket engine, began in 2019 and has continued into 2023. With the village only a few miles from the test site, in August 2019, Cameron County officials—following requirements set by the US regulatory authority, the FAA—began to request village residents to go outside their homes during any tests that involve loading of propellant fuel, due to perceived danger from shock-wave induced broken windows in the event of an explosion.^[13]

SpaceX made an initial orbital test flight of the entire two-stage Starship system in 2023. The first flight test flew on April 20, 2023, and ended after approximately two minutes when the Super Heavy booster lost control of its engines, while still over the designated flight test corridor.^[14][15] The second flight lifted off the pad on November 18, 2023, and successfully achieved stage separation, though both the booster and ship were terminated later in the flight.^[16][17][18]