SpaceX plans to start building an eight-mile natural gas pipeline next month to supply its Starship launch complex in Texas, as Elon Musk’s rocket company pushes to support a faster launch cadence for its next-generation vehicle.
The pipeline, called “Starpipe,” would run to SpaceX’s company town of Starbase and is expected to enter service by Jan. 26, according to a Texas Railroad Commission document filed last month by SpaceX affiliate Lone Star Mineral Development and reviewed by Reuters, which also cited county filings.
8-mile pipeline shows SpaceX’s bigger energy plans
While launch companies typically rely on outside energy suppliers, SpaceX’s pipeline plan suggests a broader move into gas infrastructure as it seeks tighter control over the fuel chain behind Starship.
Starpipe would begin on an 83-acre site at the Port of Brownsville, where SpaceX is in talks to lease land from the city for 50 years, according to a port official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The project could also mark an early step in a longer-term strategy, with SpaceX reportedly spending years exploring drilling operations near Starbase and elsewhere in Texas. The company has also signed more than 100 paid-up oil and gas leases with Texas property owners since 2023, according to land records.
SpaceX’s push into gas infrastructure fits its long-running strategy of bringing more of its supply chain in-house, a costly but powerful model that has helped it move faster than rivals in rocket and spacecraft development.
With greater Starship ambitions comes greater fuel demand
Starship’s fuel demand explains why SpaceX would want a dedicated pipeline at Starbase.
The fully reusable rocket system carries about 3,650 metric tons of propellant, according to SpaceX, and each launch requires roughly 630,000 gallons of liquid methane, fuel now delivered by hundreds of tanker trucks.
SpaceX has conducted 12 Starship flight tests since 2023, as the company works to advance a vehicle designed for heavier payloads, rapid reuse and long-distance missions.
The FAA has authorized SpaceX to scale operations at Boca Chica to as many as 25 Starship/Super Heavy launches a year, including up to 25 landings each for the booster and upper stage.
That approved launch rate alone would require a far more reliable fuel supply, while Musk’s longer-term goal of dozens, then hundreds, of Starship flights would make truck deliveries increasingly impractical.
A pipeline would help turn Starbase from a Starship test site into a high-volume launch hub.
Pipeline plan follows SpaceX’s $25 billion funding push
The pipeline plan comes as SpaceX is also turning to debt markets to support a broader, capital-heavy expansion.
The company launched a five-part notes offering earlier this week to raise at least $25 billion, with proceeds expected to refinance a bridge loan and fund general corporate needs.
The sale, split across five-year, seven-year, 10-year, 20-year and 30-year maturities, drew nearly $85 billion in investor demand, citing a person familiar with the deal.
Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are managing the sale.
The deal also marks SpaceX’s first investment-grade dollar bond issuance after rating agencies assigned the company investment-grade ratings last week.
