TL;DR80 residents near SpaceX’s Starbase are suing over home damage from rocket launches. One plaintiff needs $100K in foundation repairs. Housing costs have doubled since 2014.
Eighty residents of towns near SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas have filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company’s constant rocket launches are physically destroying their homes. The lawsuit accuses SpaceX of negligence, gross negligence, and trespass based on the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984.
One plaintiff showed Reuters her home in Port Isabel, less than six miles from Starbase. Cabinets no longer sit evenly. Doors will not close. Flooring warped after a waterline burst during a launch. She estimates $100,000 in foundation repairs, more than the home is currently worth. “They’re wanting to get to Mars,” she said. “But what about us that are here?”
The lawsuit alleges damage from 11 Starship test flights conducted between April 2023 and October 2025. Sonic booms, vibrations, and overpressure waves cracked walls, shattered windows, damaged roofs, and broke foundations across dozens of households in Port Isabel, Laguna Vista, and South Padre Island.
The economic pressure extends beyond structural damage. The influx of SpaceX money has doubled housing costs in Cameron County. Average home prices rose from $131,000 in 2014 to over $281,000 in 2026, according to Moneywise. For the poor and working-class communities that were there first, the combination of physical damage and inflated costs is squeezing them out.
