Overview
- Roughly 80 South Texas homeowners filed a federal complaint in Brownsville alleging Starship launches and booster returns shook their houses and caused cracked walls, loose fixtures, and broken windows.
- Plaintiffs live 5 to 10 miles from SpaceX’s Starbase near Boca Chica in towns including Port Isabel, South Padre Island, Laguna Vista, and Laguna Heights, and they are seeking a jury trial.
- The lawsuit cites field data from an October 2024 flight reporting peak noise above 110 decibels and sonic-boom overpressures above five pounds per square foot, and it references a Brigham Young University analysis that compares one Starship launch to multiple SLS or Falcon 9 launches.
- SpaceX holds FAA environmental approvals for Starbase operations, yet the company has not responded in court to this suit, and it maintains a process for residents to submit property-damage claims by email or phone.
- The complaint arrives as SpaceX readies Starship Flight 12, with airspace notices pointing to a mid-May window, and one report notes an early-stage civil case is unlikely by itself to halt the upcoming test.