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Texas approves land-swapping deal with SpaceX as company hopes to expand rocket-launch operations
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FILE - Visitors look on as SpaceX's Starship, the world's biggest and most powerful rocket, stands ready for a scheduled launch from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Wednesday, April 19, 2023. SpaceX would acquire public land in Texas to expand its rocket launch facilities under a tentative deal that is moving forward after months of opposition from nearby residents and some local officials near the U.S.-Mexico border. - photo by AP Photo/Eric Gay, File
MCALLEN, TX (AP) — SpaceX would acquire public land in Texas to expand its rocket-launch facilities under a tentative deal that is moving forward after months of opposition from nearby residents and officials near the U.S.-Mexico border. A tentative land-swapping deal moved forward this week when the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission unanimously voted in favor of the deal to swap 43 noncontiguous acres from Boca Chica State Park with SpaceX, which would then give the state 477 acres about 10 miles south of the park near Brownsville, Texas. Some of the 43 contested acres are landlocked with no public access but with protected plant and animal species.