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A worker died at SpaceX\u2019s Starbase launch site in South Texas on Friday, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has opened an investigation.<\/p>\n
The San Antonio Express-News reported Monday<\/a> that the unidentified victim died at around 4:17 a.m. local time on May 15, citing OSHA and local officials. The Wall Street Journal later reported that the county sheriff confirmed to the outlet<\/a> that a worker died. OSHA confirmed to TechCrunch that it is investigating the apparent accident. <\/p>\n Representatives for the nearby Brownsville police and fire departments did not respond to requests for comment. SpaceX and the newly incorporated city of Starbase did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n The circumstances of the worker\u2019s death are not immediately clear. OSHA told TechCrunch that it won\u2019t release more information until its investigation is complete, which could take months.<\/p>\n The death comes just a few days ahead of the first planned launch of SpaceX\u2019s upgraded Starship rocket. Elon Musk\u2019s spaceflight company is also reportedly releasing the detailed prospectus for its initial public offering this week, which is expected to be the biggest ever when that transaction takes place next month. <\/p>\n SpaceX has long dealt with worker safety problems at its Starbase site, which handles Starship prototype launches and is an active construction zone. <\/p>\n In 2025, TechCrunch analyzed OSHA data<\/a> and determined the Texas launch site had an injury rate that far outpaced those of industry rivals, and was the most dangerous of SpaceX\u2019s worksites. A 2023 Reuters investigation uncovered dozens of previously-unreported injuries and a worker death in 2014 at SpaceX\u2019s McGregor, Texas test site.<\/p>\n In January, OSHA hit SpaceX with seven \u201cserious\u201d safety violations for, among other things, not properly inspecting a crane before it collapsed at Starbase last June. The safety agency dealt SpaceX the maximum financial penalty on six of those seven violations, totaling $115,850. SpaceX is contesting those penalties, federal records show. <\/p>\n The company has been hit with multiple lawsuits related to injuries sustained at Starbase in recent years. In December, an employee of one of SpaceX\u2019s subcontractors sued after he was crushed by a large metal support dropped from a crane. The worker, Eduardo Cavazos, suffered a broken hip, knee, and tibia, and OSHA opened a \u201crapid response investigation,\u201d as TechCrunch first reported<\/a> in December.<\/p>\n OSHA has since closed that rapid response investigation without taking any punitive action, according to a TechCrunch public records request. And the lawsuit was recently dropped because his employee, the subcontractor, has workers compensation insurance that prevents it from being sued, according to Cavazos\u2019 attorney.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n