Cameron County touts SpaceX’s economic impact

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – SpaceX’s goal to land on Mars is making Cameron County a happy camper.

The rocket manufacturer is investing more than $3 billion at its Starbase facility on the edge of Boca Chica Beach east of Brownsville.

But its impact on the Rio Grande Valley outnumbers those figures by more than twice.         

According to a news release issued by the office of Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., the enterprise is giving the RGV the distinction of having the region’s only municipality with six modes of transportation – seaport, air, road, air, pipeline and space.

And that is resulting in a bonanza for the area as Starbase’s annual gross economic market stands at more than $6.5 million.

As stated in the release, some of the economic indicators show the following:

–        SpaceX spends more than $900 million with the 80 plus suppliers of goods and services.

–        Its estimated economic impact on just tourists is projected at nearly $100 million by the year  2025.

–        The company employs more than 3,400 full-timers and contractors, and,

–        It generates some 21,400 indirect jobs in the area.

Kathryn Lueders, Starbase general manager, has said 80 percent of the people that work on Rocket Road are from the Valley.

“We are actively looking at providing new job opportunities at our critical facilities,” she said during a recent meeting of TXDOT’s Border Trade Advisory Committee. “We build everything, except the engines.”

Lueders said the 15-year-old company has made some significant milestones in the aerospace industry.

She also said at the time more than 2,100 people plus 500 plus were employed at Starbase.

And while the company is located in the unincorporated territory of Cameron County, its presence in the region has impacted the lives of thousands of people.

Since setting up its operations at the end of Texas Highway 4, is not uncommon today to hear residents from all over the RGV saying they work at Starbase, whether they are from Brownsville, McAllen, South Padre Island, Harlingen and even from small communities such as Lyford in Willacy County.

Treviño, Cameron County’s judge, said SpaceX’s impact on the economy has been pivotal.

“We look forward to additional growth and investment in the future as SpaceX carries on their mission to explore space, return us to the moon and colonize Mars,” Treviño said.

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