[15][16] Some conservationists have expressed concern over the impact of Starship's development in Boca Chica, Texas, on species like the critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea-turtle,[15] nearby wildlife habitats[17] and national-refuge land.

[21] In 2012, Fredrick (Rick) Jenet, director of the Center for Advanced Radio Astronomy (CARA) and an associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Texas at Brownsville, proposed to install the STARGATE in Boca Chica (initial funding included US$500,000 in seed money provided by the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation in October 2012) as part of a package to increase the likelihood of attracting SpaceX to build a launch site in the area.

[43] In April 2012, the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation initiated a Notice of Intent to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement[44] and public hearings on the new launch site, which would be located in Cameron County, Texas.

[7] In September 2013, the State of Texas General Land Office (GLO) and Cameron County signed an agreement outlining how beach closures would be handled in order to support a future SpaceX launch schedule.

[56] Prior to a final decision on the location of the spaceport, SpaceX began purchasing a number of real estate properties in Cameron County, Texas, beginning in June 2012.

[58] Prior to May 2013, five lots in the Spanish Dagger Subdivision in Boca Chica Village, adjacent to Highway 4 which leads to the proposed launch site, had been purchased.

[62] By September 2014, Dogleg Park completed a replat of lots totaling 49.3 acres (200,000 m2) into a second subdivision, this one named "Launch Site Texas", made up of several parcels of property previously purchased.

[12][70] In January 2016, following additional soil testing that revealed foundation problems, SpaceX indicated they were not planning to complete construction until 2017, and the first launch from Boca Chica was not expected until late 2018.

As of 2019[update], SpaceX leased three US government-owned launch sites: Vandenberg SLC 4 in California, and Cape Canaveral SLC-40 and Kennedy Space Center LC39A both in Florida.

[6] Launches on orbital trajectories from Brownsville will have a constrained flight path, due to the Caribbean Islands as well as the large number of oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

[citation needed] On March 14, 2024, the third integrated flight test was held, ending in the Super Heavy booster splashing down but at speeds too high to be considered acceptable, and the Starship upper stage disintegrating upon atmospheric re-entry.

Its arms, previously used for assembly, are now utilized to capture the returning Super Heavy booster, a process initially demonstrated during Starship flight test 5.

[citation needed] The launch site also includes a tank farm that stores methane, liquid oxygen, water, nitrogen, helium and hydraulic fluid.

[135] In 2021, activist Elias Cantu of the League of United Latin American Citizens said the company encourages Brownsville's gentrification, and fears an ever-increasing property valuation and a risk of low-income residents being pushed out of the neighborhood.

[132] In June 2021, Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz threatened to prosecute SpaceX for unauthorized road and beach closures, as well as employing security officers who may not be licensed to carry handguns.

[139] During the SN8 launch, SpaceX ignored the FAA's models indicating that weather conditions could strengthen the shockwave created by rocket explosion and cause damage to nearby homes.

[140] Following the launch, the FAA's Associate Administrator Wayne Monteith commented that SpaceX showed poor process discipline by relying on assumptions, as such call into question the company's safety culture.

[143] In addition, The Wall Street Journal found that Musk had plans in place to start a town near SpaceX and Boring Company facilities, dubbed "Snailbrook", wherein its employees would live and work.

[132] Senator Tammy Duckworth expressed concerns about who will regulate the spaceport, as NASA is not a regulatory agency, and the FAA has limited experience with space travel.

[152] The Brownsville Economic Development Council (BEDC) was building a space tracking facility in Boca Chica Village on a 2.3-acre (9,300 m2) site adjacent to the SpaceX launch control center.

[156][157] YouTube channels with large followings such as LabPadre and NASASpaceflight have been covering Starship's development since 2019, setting up cameras around the launch and production complex and broadcasting 24-hour livestreams.

[159][160] Some residents of Boca Chica Village, Brownsville, and environmental activists criticized the Starship development program, stating that SpaceX had harmed local wildlife, conducted unauthorized test flights along with infrastructure construction, and polluted the area with noise.

[163] The spaceport was approved under the assumption that the Falcon Heavy rocket would launch there, thus creating a large radius where Starship debris can land on, without regulatory compliance.

[176] Before the first Integrated Flight Test on April 20, 2023, 27 organizations including the Sierra Club, South Texas Environmental Justice Network, Another Gulf is Possible, Voces Unidas, Trucha, and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe signed a letter expressing their concerns and opposition to it.

[166][178] After the launch, which was plagued by engine fire control issues and forced to end in an explosion via self-destruct over the Gulf,[179] a representative of Another Gulf also criticized the launch's noise levels, blasting of particulate matter (later determined to be sand[180][181]) on Port Isabel residents 10 km (6.5 miles) away, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval that same day of new liquefied natural gas terminals within close proximity of Port Isabel.

This dust reportedly consisted of fine particles of sand and soil that had been kicked up into the atmosphere from the launch of Starship,[181][186] with concerns by environmental groups over further damage to the habitat caused by cleanup efforts.

[180] According to Dave Cortez of the Sierra Club environmental advocacy group, several residents complained of broken windows in their businesses and the sand/soil particles covering their homes.

However, SpaceX ignored procedures required by state and federal laws, including specifying the water mix's composition, where it drains into, and how much of it is used, to apply for permits to test the system.

[200][202][204] In their TCEQ permit application summary, SpaceX stated that discharges are expected to contain total dissolved solids constituents nitrate, phosphorus, sulfate, chloride, fluoride, aluminum, cadmium, chromium, copper, cyanide, and zinc.

Dave Cavossa, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, said the implementation of regulations "has caused severe licensing delays, confusion and is jeopardizing our long-held leadership position.