The South Texas home of Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket company is on its way to becoming an official city with a galactic name: Starbase.
A vote on Saturday (May 4) to formally organise Starbase as a city was approved by a lopsided margin by a small group of voters who live there and are mostly Musk's employees at SpaceX.
Starbase is the facility and launch site for the SpaceX rocket programme that is under contract with the Department of Defence and NASA, which hopes to send astronauts back to the moon and someday to Mars.
Musk first floated the idea of Starbase in 2021 and approval of the new city was all but certain. Of the 283 eligible voters in the area, most are believed to be Starbase workers.
The election victory was personal for Musk. The billionaire's popularity has diminished since he became the chain-saw-wielding public face of President Donald Trump's federal job and spending cuts, and profits at his Tesla car company have plummeted.
SpaceX has generally drawn widespread support from local officials for its jobs and investment in the area.
But the creation of an official company town has also drawn critics who worry it will expand Musk's personal control over the area, with potential authority to close a popular beach and state park for launches.
Companion efforts to the city vote include bills in the state legislature to shift that authority from the county to the new town's mayor and city council.
All these measures come as SpaceX is asking federal authorities for permission to increase the number of South Texas launches from five to 25 a year.
The city at the southern tip of Texas near the Mexico border is only about 3.9 square kilometres, crisscrossed by a few roads and dappled with airstream trailers and modest midcentury homes.
SpaceX officials have said little about exactly why they want a company town and did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
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