As SpaceX prepares to launch Starship V3 for the first time, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death of a worker at its Starbase company town outside Brownsville, Texas. OSHA confirmed the investigation on Monday, the San Antonio Express-News reports. The Brownsville Fire Department was dispatched to Starbase at 4:17 a.m. CT on Friday, but they stood down seven minutes later after being advised that SpaceX’s emergency medical services were handling the situation, Chief Jarrett Sheldon told the publication. Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Treviño reportedly said his department assisted and that OSHA has since taken over the investigation. Local authorities have not yet identified the victim or shared details of the fatal incident, but sources familiar with the matter told the Washington Post the person was a contractor helping to develop the Starbase complex and said they died after a fall. Images and videos of the Gigabay building, captured via live camera footage and posted on X, show the flashing lights of emergency vehicles around 4:17 a.m. CT. The rumblings about a death at Starbase of an employee under a contractor last Friday morning appear to be true. 4:16AM, about 2 hours before the already claimed time, I spotted an ambulance w/ emergency lights. All the cranes working on the gigabay stopped work shortly before… pic.twitter.com/h6X3Mh7wpT — TheSpaceEngineer (@mcrs987) May 17, 2026 SpaceX did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment. Questionable safety at SpaceX This is far from the first workplace incident to occur at Starbase. In January, a contractor sued SpaceX for negligence, claiming he was struck by a piece of falling debris while working in an elevator shaft at the site in April 2024.