SpaceX worker death at Starbase renews safety scrutiny ahead of launch
A worker death at Starbase has put SpaceX back under OSHA scrutiny days before Flight 12, renewing questions about whether Starship’s pace is outrunning safety.
A worker death at SpaceX’s Starbase complex has sharpened scrutiny of the company’s safety record just days before the next Starship launch. OSHA said it is investigating the fatal incident at the Brownsville, Texas site, where an inspection record opened on June 25, 2025 remains open at Space Exploration Technologies Corp., 1 Massey Way.
The latest death lands at a facility that has drawn repeated concern for years. Starbase is SpaceX’s main Starship testing and production complex in South Texas, and it became an official city in May 2025. SpaceX says Starship Flight 12 is now targeted for May 20, adding urgency to questions about whether the drive to keep the program moving has outpaced basic worker protections inside an active construction and test zone.
The injury numbers at Starbase are stark. OSHA workplace injury data reviewed by TechCrunch showed the site posted a total recordable incident rate of 4.27 injuries per 100 workers in 2024. That was nearly six times the average for comparable space vehicle manufacturing facilities and nearly three times the aerospace manufacturing average. SpaceX’s average across all of its manufacturing sites was 2.28, and other SpaceX locations in McGregor, Bastrop, Hawthorne and Redmond also exceeded industry averages.
This is not the first time the company’s safety practices have drawn scrutiny. A 2023 Reuters investigation found at least 600 previously unreported SpaceX workplace injuries since 2014, including crushed limbs, amputations, head injuries and one death. Reuters identified that fatality as Lonnie LeBlanc, who died in June 2014 at SpaceX’s McGregor test site during early construction. After that report, three U.S. lawmakers called for greater scrutiny of SpaceX’s worker safety practices.
Regulators have continued to press the company. OSHA previously cited SpaceX in January 2026 for seven serious violations tied to crane-inspection lapses at Starbase, underscoring that the site’s safety problems have remained active even as work accelerates there. With Flight 12 approaching and the newest fatality under review, Starbase now faces renewed questions about whether the pressure to advance Starship is exposing workers to preventable danger.
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