Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., says he thinks SpaceX will launch its Starship rocket for a first orbital test flight from Boca Chica within the next 90 days.
Treviño sounded bullish about the prospects when he spoke in-depth about SpaceX at a conference titled “The Future of Aerospace, Defense & Energy in Brownsville.” His remarks were made during a Q&A session with Helen Ramirez, executive director of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (GBIC).
“I know you don’t have a crystal ball in your pocket but what is your prediction in terms of the Starship launch?” Ramirez asked.
"I could accurately say that if it was up to SpaceX it would have been today or yesterday. I can say that with a 100 percent degree of certainty,” Treviño responded.
“But, I think on the real aggressive side, we are probably talking 30 days. On the more moderate side, probably 60 and more realistically 90. But, it could be anywhere in that ballpark.”
The conference was co-hosted by GBIC and SelectUSA, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and held at the Brownsville Events Center.
Treviño was able to make his bold prediction because of a recent environmental assessment finding by the Federal Aviation Administration. Although the FAA is requiring SpaceX to meet a few dozen conditions before it wins approval to expand at Boca Chica, the agency reported a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), Treviño said.
“SpaceX understands and they are committed to making sure that they protect the environment and do not impact it in a negative form or fashion. So, they are involved and engaged,” Treviño said.
The FONSI finding was a relief Elon Musk, founder, CEO and chief engineer at SpaceX, as well as the Rio Grande Valley, Treviño said.
"They (SpaceX) have been waiting on this. We have all been waiting on this, honestly, for quite a period of time,” Treviño said, referencing the environmental assessment.
“If you follow Elon, and Helen mentioned it earlier, he is not one to let bureaucracy get in the way or impede his plans for his company or his goals for the human race. You have a conversation with him, he needs to get this done as soon as possible. Just like everybody else, he senses his own mortality. And before he gets to up in years he wants to be able to say that he has accomplished his goals of getting us back to the Moon and getting us first to Mars.”
Spaceflight Now recently reported on SpaceX construction at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “The Starship launch pad in Florida is expected to resemble the tower SpaceX built last year at Boca Chica Beach in Texas, where the company plans to launch the Super Heavy booster and Starship rocket on its first orbital test flight. Operational Super Heavy and Starship missions will likely launch from Florida, according to statements from Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO,” the publication stated.
In his Q&A with GBIC’s Ramirez, Treviño spoke about the difference in rocket launching infrastructure in Florida as compared to Boca Chica.
“Obviously, the difference between Boca Chica and Florida is that we have not done it yet. We have not launched here. We have had a few tests but we don’t have the launching history that Florida does. So, we are literally inventing the wheel here. I think FAA, understandably so, wanted to make sure that they crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s before they gave approval,” Treviño said.
“Many of the quote, unquote, preconditions (imposed by the FAA), none of them were a big surprise. And SpaceX, I think, is working their way through them. But, this is just the beginning and I think now that they have got this checkmark off, we can anticipate accelerated movement and activity going on at Starbase.”
Another question posed to Treviño by Ramirez focused on the impact SpaceX is having on the Cameron County economy.
“The expectation was we were going to have a couple of hundred jobs, initially, and we were very excited about that. It is over 1,600 jobs now. Plus over 6,000 indirect jobs,” Treviño said.
“The investment, $8.1 million in sales and property taxes. Over $570 million in compensation and benefits payroll; $650 million in added on production of goods. Over $900 million in aggregate market value goods and services.”
Treviño said that during Covid, Brownsville hotels were largely full, unlike in other areas. He put this down, in large part, to SpaceX and ancillary aerospace activity.
“They filled up our hotels, they were eating in restaurants, they were supporting local businesses. They continue to grow. It is no exaggeration to say that they helped the region get past Covid at a time when everybody else was suffering. Our hotel occupancy was at 90-plus percent,” Treviño said.
“Our airlines were at 80 to 90 percent (capacity). So, it is no exaggeration to say that SpaceX has made its mark. We are really excited about what the immediate and near future means for us.”
Ramirez agreed with the county judge.
“I can attest to what the judge is saying. Just to give you a data point. Dallas had a hotel occupancy during Covid of 40 percent. Here we are at a very healthy 80s and 90s,” she said.
Editor’s Note: The above news story is the fourth in a series of six features focusing on a recent Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation/SelectUSA conference titled “The Future of Aerospace, Defense & Energy in Brownsville.” Click here to read Part One. Click here to read Part Two. Click here to read Part Three. Part Five will be published in our next edition.
Editor's Note: The Q&A between Ramirez and Treviño featured many aspects related to SpaceX's presence in the Rio Grande Valley, many more than are covered in the above news story. We would encourage readers to check out the GBIC video of the Q&A, when it is posted online.
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