SpaceX’s Starbase City is getting its own playground

SpaceX’s Texas city, Starbase, is less than a year old, but it already has its own volunteer fire department and is working on creating a police department. Now she wants her own court, too.

The Starbase city manager presented a proposed ordinance to the City Commission during Wednesday’s meeting that would create a municipal court that would include a judge, prosecutor and part-time court clerk. The Mayor of Starbase will serve as a judge until he is appointed to a two-year term. The official wrote that he hopes the nominee will be ready by next month’s meeting.

Forming a courthouse inside Starbase, which currently houses about 580 residents and is located next to SpaceX’s rocket factory and launch facility in South Texas, is the latest in a series of steps the city has taken to build its own municipal services.

In addition to the volunteer fire department, Starbase now also handles its own building permits and fire code inspections. When a plan to contract local sheriff’s deputies to patrol the city collapsed, the city decided instead to create the Starbase Police Department. (The city is still paying the Cameron County Police Department to use the jail facilities, according to paperwork filed before Wednesday’s meeting.)

Starbase is still in the process of setting up the police department, and expects this process to take about six months.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the City Commission reviewed an application to the Texas Law Enforcement Commission required to support the police force. This app revealed some new details about the plans for the new Starbase Police Department.

The city wrote that its growing population has led to increased requests for service. During 2025, there were 420 city law enforcement calls, 180 fire service calls, and 140 EMS calls, according to the app. 353 accidents were also documented in the area last year, with more than 7,000 vehicles traveling on Interstate 4 – the main artery in and out of Starbase – daily.

The Cameron County Sheriff’s Office was unable to “ensure dedicated law enforcement coverage for Starbase,” and Starbase’s remote geographic location “demands fast and reliable response times,” the city wrote. “These restrictions have raised significant concerns among residents and city leadership,” the city wrote.

“The city’s unique combination of cutting-edge technology and coastal charm, coupled with rising median household incomes and rising property values, drives expectations for municipal services, especially public safety,” the city wrote in the application. The city also made sure to point out that SpaceX launches, which are expected to increase dramatically over the next few years, attract many tourists to the area. “In addition, the City has a significant governmental interest in ensuring the safety of spaceflight operations conducted within its jurisdiction,” the request said.