Jenam 2011CAMERON COUNTY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Hundreds of SpaceX supporters came out in force to the Boca Chica Starbase on Saturday. A rally was held to show appreciation to Elon Musk and his company’s contributions to the Valley.
Jack Yuen is the director of Maker SpaceX Boca Chica, a local non-profit organization. Yuen chose to hold this appreciation event to find out how many SpaceX supporters are in the Valley.
“I wanted to get an idea of the actual level of support in the region,” Yuen said. “It’s hard to get here, we’re 20 miles out of town, it’s a weekend, I keep hearing people say I love SpaceX.”
As part of a photo op, the massive crowd of supporters formed into a heart shape to say thank you. Many Brownsville residents say SpaceX improves the local economy.
“Many people who were looking for opportunities often have to move out of town to other port cities, especially welders, and now we have opportunities for welders and engineers,” Hector Hernandez said.
Other supporters included Brownsville ISD students. Director Dr. Rene Gutiérrez told ValleyCentral that having SpaceX in Brownsville also provides more career opportunities for students.
“We want them to stay here, we don’t want them to go where they belong here with us in South Texas in Brownsville and our kids need to be part of this gathering,” Gutierrez said.
SpaceX continues to await the FAA’s environmental study which will not be released until May 31. However, Brownsville City Commissioner Jessica Tetreau hopes the inspiration from SpaceX will stick.
“We appreciate them for what they gave us, that hope they gave us,” Tetreau said. “Hopefully the FAA can count that and understand how much it really means to us.”
In the meantime, the people of Brownsville cling to that hope.
You know, I hope we get this clearance that we have to protect our wildlife, we have to protect our region, we have to collaborate with SpaceX, said Alejandro Farias. “I hope everything goes well, I want to see the launch within a day and tomorrow as it goes.”
