Lueders: At Starbase we want raw material going in one end of a factory and a rocket coming out the other

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BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS – SpaceX wants to put raw materials in one end of a factory at Boca Chica and have a rocket come out at the other.

That was the plan laid out by Kathryn Lueders, general manager of Starbase at a Brownsville Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Aug. 27.

Held at the Brownsville Events Center, the event was titled “Bridging Borders & Beyond – The Impact of US-Mexico Relations and Space Exploration in the Rio Grande Valley.” Lueders was the keynote speaker.

“So, what’s really, really, really important is, first of all, at Starbase we’re trying to develop, for the first time, a place where you start with raw material on one end and a rocket comes out on the other side of the factory,” Lueders said.

“And then we’re able to take it down the road to Massey’s and be able to do our critical fuel pressure tests, any hot fire tests that we need to do, and then be able to roll it out to the pad and, for the first time ever, have full production test launch.”

Lueders continued: “And then, ideally, return, and then refurbishment, and then launch again capability here in the Rio Grande Valley. This is very, very critical because this is really what enables us to be able to get our sequence and the number of flights that we need to be able to do our critical missions. For us to be able to do our human landing system mission, we, right now, would need to have a sequencing of multiple missions and flights to our depot that will be our fueling depot, and then be able to launch our Starship, go to the fueling depot, have it be fueled up, and then that vehicle then will become the vehicle that goes and picks up our crew members and lands on the moon.

“All the sequencing means that we need to be able to launch and land multiple times to be able to get that going. And we’ve proven that we can do that, obviously, with the Falcon Nine.”

All of this is necessary, Lueders said, if SpaceX is to accomplish the “really tough missions” that it will need to conduct for its upcoming national missions for both NASA and the Department of Defense.

Lueders was aided by a power point presentation and videos that helped her tell the story of SpaceX at Boca Chica. One slide showed just how much bigger Starship is compared to Falcon Nine.

“We’re super proud of the Falcon Nine Heavy but you can see Starship dwarfs that. And what people don’t realize sometimes is how much Starship is a game changer for exploration. There’s a reason why Elon is investing in this vehicle – that nobody’s ever built one like it before – and it’s because it is what’s going to allow us to do interplanetary travel.”

She said reusing the Boosters is “very, very, very important to us and our missions for Starship.”

SpaceX founder Elon Musk needs Starship to work as planned, Lueders said, so that the human species can survive (on the Moon) no matter what happens on Earth.

“This is what he (Musk) is giving back to humankind,” Lueders said. “That doesn’t mean that we don’t care about what the Earth’s like. It just means that, when you look at history over time, we have to be able to start doing these next steps to be able to ensure that if we ever have to leave for whatever reason, that we are starting to lay that foundation.”

Lueders said some people think she is crazy for thinking this way.

“A lot of people go, Kathy, that sounds kind of crazy, and I’m like, well, you know what, there’s a lot of people that thought getting in the boat and going across the ocean was pretty crazy, and there were a lot of people that thought going to Moon was pretty crazy. But what we do know is that when you have these goals that are very lofty and challenging, it is what drives a whole basis of knowledge and technology and continues to drive and push our boundaries farther and farther and farther.

Lueders said the Rio Grande Valley is crucial to this endeavor.

“So, we’re investing. We feel like, you know, the Starbase and the Rio Grande Valley is our place to be able to run the Starship program, and so we’re obviously investing in the people here to be able to do this mission,” Lueders said.

“We are actually in the process right now of really beginning another round of ramp up, because we’re bringing another 300 engineers and technicians to the Rio Grande Valley to help us… increase our cadence for the missions that we have coming up.

“And so, all of this means that we need even more capabilities at Starbase to be able to take care of these people. It’s why you see us building more houses, investing in schools in the different areas, looking at, how can we continue to bring talent down here and attract as many people to this area. Because we want the best and brightest working at Starbase.”

Lueders said if one visits Starbase right now they will see that SpaceX just stacked the seventh segment for its second tower. “So, we’ll be bringing on our second launch pad over the next five or six months.”

Lueders had started her remarks by explaining the importance of Brownsville and the Valley to SpaceX.

“I want all you need to be thinking about where you are today and where you are during the next few months. Because we are making history in the Rio Grande Valley and it’s not… you know, sometimes people view that Starbase as down at the end of a very dirt filled and bumpy Highway 4,” Lueders said.

“But you know, it’s really made up of people in this community. You know, 80 percent of the people that are working at Starbase are people that grew up in the Rio Grande Valley. And so, I’m always most proud to be able to tell people that you can be living in the Rio Grande Valley and be a rocket scientist. Super proud of that.”

Editor’s Note: Here is a video recording of Kathryn Lueders’ remarks at the Bridging Borders & Beyond event: