Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Delays Vote on SpaceX Land Swap

SpaceX aims to expand its launch program with the acquisition of 43 acres near Boca Chica State Park in South Texas

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a payload including two lunar rovers from Japan and the United Arab Emirates, lifts off from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Dec. 11, 2022. John Raoux/AP Photo

Commissioners for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) recently postponed making a decision on a proposed land swap with SpaceX.

Billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX wants to acquire 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park along the southernmost Gulf Coast in exchange for 477 acres near Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. The Texas-based space exploration company wants to use the acreage to expand its Starbase operations and rocket tests in Cameron County in the Rio Grande Valley.