Starship might meet spring break
SpaceX plans next launch in Texas
SpaceX’s third Starship launch could spark a different kind of space race in South Texas among the thousands headed to South Padre Island for spring break and throngs of rocket aficionados hunting for hotel rooms.
The commercial space company said last week that Starship could blast off from its Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach as early as 7 a.m. Thursday — timing that coincides with a major spring break week, known as “Texas Week,” that’s expected to draw tens of thousands to the region.
SpaceX’s announcement noted that it’s still awaiting “regulatory approval” from the Federal Aviation Administration and that Starship is in “developmental testing,” which means “the schedule is dynamic and likely to change.”
The combination of spring break and a possible Starship launch is expected to boost South Padre Island’s tourism that was dented by the COVID-19 pandemic but rebounded in 2022 and 2023.
“We’re forecasting to get pretty close to selling out,” said Daniel Haughan, general manager of Margaritaville Beach Resort, one of South Padre’s largest hotels with 253 rooms and condos. SpaceX’s announcement of the possible launch “obviously helped push those occupancy forecasts even more aggressively, and so we’re just kind of monitoring that right now.”
Haughan predicts the island will be busy but that it won’t be “absolutely jam packed” with every room sold out.
“Spring break itself is busy. Add on a rocket launch on top of it, it’s definitely going to be busy,” he said. “It should be a week packed of excitement for sure.”
‘Texas Week’
Most Texas universities and schools will be on spring break March 11-15, which means thousands of college students and families from around the state are headed to South Padre Island.
“We see an influx of all Texas schools that are on break. Texas A&M, UT-Austin, UT-l Paso, Texas Tech, UT RGV are some of the main schools that we see down here during Texas week,” said Blake Henry, executive director of South Padre Island’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Next week is the busiest of March.”
Henry said that while it’s hard to calculate the numbers of people who visit the island for launches or spring break, past Texas Weeks have drawn more than 50,000 college students.
South Padre Island saw roughly 1.7 million visitors last March, which generated more than $1 million in hotel occupancy taxes.
A potential SpaceX launch during spring break is a big economic win for the island and region. Henry said it offers the opportunity to “double market.”
“SpaceX launching this week brings a lot more attention to South Padre Island and to the world, so we’re able to tell our story,” he said. "If you can’t get down here to check out our rocket launch, now you know about us, come during the summer or the fall instead.”
Uncertainty remains
As of last week, the FAA had not authorized Starship to fly again. Nor had it listed the normal temporary flight restrictions for the airspace around Starbase’s launch pad.
On Feb. 26, the FAA said it closed the mishap investigation into Starship’s Nov. 18, 2023, flight that ended in a pair of explosions over the Gulf of Mexico. The report said SpaceX must complete 17 updates to components on the booster and spacecraft before the agency will sign off on the craft’s next flight.
While SpaceX didn’t show the launch window’s times, a Coast Guard Notice to Mariners listed “Hazardous Space Operations” from 7 to 11 a.m. near Boca Chica Beach. It said that backup dates are each following day during the same time “until conditions permit the launch” and warned mariners to avoid the Gulf of Mexico waters under the expected flight path.
SpaceX said the upcoming “flight test aims to build on what we’ve learned from previous flights while attempting a number of ambitious objectives.”
In addition to seeking a successful ascent, the company plans to open and close Starship’s payload door, demonstrate the craft’s ability to transfer propellants, the “first ever re-light of a Raptor engine while in space,” and a controlled reentry.
March 14 is also known as Pi Day, an informal celebration of the mathematical constant equal to approximately 3.14. Elon Musk’s companies are known for leveraging special dates to amplify their events and help them go viral online. One example is Starship’s first flight that occurred on April 20, or 4/20, a date that’s widely known as an annual celebration of cannabis.
SpaceX plans to livestream the launch beginning 30 minutes before liftoff.