In Texas, SpaceX’s Rocket Facility Is Blocking Public Beach Access
Boca Chica, Texas — I’m loafing outside my tent, waiting for the coffee to boil, contemplating a morning swim. My pitbull, Shiner, is thrashing in the sand with a look of crazed joy twisting his face. Brown pelicans are cruising low over the roiling gray-green Gulf waters.
That’s when a Cameron County sheriff’s deputy drives up and tells us to leave. Boca Chica Beach is now closed so Elon Musk’s company SpaceX can conduct rocket tests at its nearby launchpad, which towers over the dunes just north of our camp.
Such beach closures have become frequent since SpaceX started building its Starbase facility about six years ago.