The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death of a worker at SpaceX’s Starbase site

A worker at SpaceX’s Starbase launch site in South Texas died on Friday, and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has opened an investigation.

The unidentified victim died around 4:17 a.m. local time on May 15, the San Antonio Express-News reported Monday, citing OSHA and local officials. The Wall Street Journal later reported that the county sheriff confirmed to the outlet that a worker had died. OSHA confirmed to TechCrunch that it is investigating the apparent incident.

Representatives for Brownsville police and nearby fire departments did not respond to requests for comment. SpaceX and the newly combined City of Starbase did not respond to requests for comment.

The circumstances of the worker’s death were not immediately clear. OSHA told TechCrunch that it will not release further information until its investigation is complete, which could take months.

The death comes just days before the planned launch of SpaceX’s upgraded Starship rocket. Elon Musk’s spaceflight company is also said to be releasing a prospectus detailing its initial public offering this week, which is expected to be the largest ever when that deal closes next month.

SpaceX has long dealt with worker safety issues at its Starbase site, which handles Starship prototype launches and is an active construction zone.

In 2025, TechCrunch analyzed OSHA data and determined that the injury rate at the Texas launch site was far greater than that of industry competitors, and was SpaceX’s most dangerous worksite. A 2023 Reuters investigation revealed dozens of previously unreported infections and the death of a worker in 2014 at SpaceX’s McGregor test site in Texas.

In January, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined SpaceX with seven “serious” safety violations for, among other things, not properly inspecting the crane before it collapsed at Starbase last June. The safety agency imposed the maximum financial penalty on SpaceX for six of those seven violations, totaling $115,850. SpaceX is appealing those penalties, federal records show.

The company has been hit with several lawsuits related to injuries it sustained at Starbase in recent years. In December, an employee of a SpaceX subcontractor filed a lawsuit after being crushed by a large metal support that fell from a crane. The worker, Eduardo Cavazos, suffered a broken hip, knee and leg, and OSHA opened a “rapid response investigation,” as TechCrunch first reported in December.

OSHA has since closed the rapid response investigation without taking any punitive action, according to a public records request filed by TechCrunch. The lawsuit was recently dropped because his employee, a subcontractor, has workers’ compensation insurance that prevents him from filing a lawsuit, according to Cavazos’ attorney.