Local Retirees Furious About Elon Musk's New SpaceX Launch Site

It's hard to enjoy a quiet retirement living next to a SpaceX launch pad.

Front Row Seats

In April, SpaceX successfully tested its Starship prototype, "Starhopper," during a tethered, minute-long flight at the company's facility in Boca Chica, Texas.

But not everyone was pleased — residents in the area told Business Insider that the test "hop" damaged parts of their homes, serving as a reminder of the increasingly-busy industrial site intruding on their peaceful retirements.

"Most of us came down here... because we're retired and wanted a nice quiet place to live," Sam Clauson, who lives two miles from the launch pad, told BI.

Mysterious Operations

Some of the roughly 20 Boca Chica residents told BI they enjoy the view of the prototype spaceship from their windows — one described it as a scene from a child's picture book. Others shared concerns about the lack of transparency from SpaceX.

SpaceX hasn't held a public meeting with residents in several years, according to BI, though the company mailed out notices in January telling residents to expect test flights by mid-March.

Not Assuaged

Still, Clauson says that SpaceX hasn't been answering people's questions about the future of the area.

"We were just all citizens trying to find out what the hell is going on, and what are we going to have to put up with?" Clauson told BI. "And are we going to be safe here? Are we going to lose our land?"

READ MORE: SpaceX is staking its future on a spaceport in south Texas. The people who live inside it are just one of Elon Musk's problems. [Business Insider]

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