Sat, Sep 12, 2015
Town's 26 Residents May Be Greatly Inconvenienced By Company's Launches
The 26 residents of the town of Boca Chica, TX are not big fans of Elon Musk, or his company SpaceX.
That's because the south Texas town in Cameron County is near SpaceX's commercial launch site which hopes to begin regular flights next year ... and the town's residents may be asked to evacuate on launch days, possibly as often as once a month.
Bloomberg Business reports that residents said that they were told by SpaceX officials that they would be required to register with the county and pass through checkpoints after showing proper ID on launch days. And during the 15-hour launch windows, their movements around their town could be restricted.
The state of Texas offered SpaceX some $15 million in incentives, beating out sites in Florida and Georgia for the SpaceX launch facility. Another $5 million was added to the pot by a local economic development agency. The company broke ground on the launch site with much fanfare last September. Then-Governor Rick Perry attended the ceremony.
But residents are becoming very wary of the high-tech company in the midst of their sleepy town. One likend SpaceX's security plans on launch days to Nazi Germany. The company plans to sweep the beach with UAVs before launching, and has set up surveillance video cameras.
Meanwhile, the presence of the company has produced something of a mini real estate boom in Boca Chica. Some avid SpaceX fans have looked at buying inexpensive houses in the town, and hosting launch parties.
The rules could change before any actual launch occurs. But many of the village's residents wish SpaceX had never come to town, and some have talked of civil disobedience, or even legal action, to protect what they say is their way of life. One resident said she is consulting with attorneys about the legality of closing a public beach on launch days, which Cheryl Stevens says is contrary to the Texas Open Beaches Act that voters made part of the state constitution. "We're not going quietly into the night," she told Bloomberg.
(Cameron County sectional. SpaceX launch photo from file)
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