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BASTROP — SpaceX and another Elon Musk company has launch plans for Bastrop County, but rockets won’t be filling local skies.
Satellite user terminals and The Boring Company are part of the intended 521,521 square-foot facility planned at 816 FM 1209 in Bastrop. Residents learned brief details about the facility during a Texas Commission of Environmental Quality meeting March 21.
“We’re just really excited to join the Bastrop community,” said Nick Picon, Starlink Production senior manager.
Hints of last week’s revelation began last year. On Aug. 31, 2022, a $43 million project on FM 1209 was the subject of a state filing from an owner addressed at the SpaceX Rocket Development Facility in McGregor. The filing called for a large shell building codenamed Project Echo. The project was filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation with architectural barrier details.
The TDLR paperwork came after SpaceX’s water quality construction permit for property at the same address, located near a tributary to the Colorado River. The permit was submitted and approved June 6, 2022.
Water would be coming from two Musk-owned companies, The Boring Company and SpaceX. The former creates transportation, utility and freight tunnels.
“They manufacture, design boring equipment to drill tunnels,” said Rajiv Y. Patel, Green Think Consulting managing engineer. “The ultimate goal there is to be able to drill tunnels in municipalities, cities to help alleviate traffic congestion.”
SpaceX is a private spaceflight company founded by Musk. Company rockets have sent satellites and people to space. NASA works with the organization to get astronauts to the International Space Station.
Since 2019, SpaceX have sent up a constellation of artificial satellites named Starlink. The satellites work to bring satellite internet service to previously unconnected communities.
On March 24, the company sent a Falcon 9 rocket with 56 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The launch marked SpaceX’s 20th mission this year and 2019th in company history. Bastrop County’s facility would help build interfaces and accessories for the satellites.
“What that’s for is for our Starlink users to be able to communicate to Starlink satellites in orbit to get that high-speed internet,” said Picon. “We’re hoping to hire several hundred engineering and production personnel in the area to work with the site.”
