Elon Musk's SpaceX could be about to smash a lot of people's windows, cops claim

Cops have warned residents living near a facility operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX that a test flight of its new Starship rocket could pose ‘a risk of injury’.

Boca Chica Village is a tiny settlement occupied by just 26 people.

Officers reportedly went from door to door delivering a leaflet which claimed a malfunction during a rocket flight could create an ‘overpressure event’.

The letter told residents they would blast out their sirens 10 minutes before a test flight on August 26.

Locals should then make efforts to evacuate the area.

The warning said: ‘There is a risk that a malfunction of the SpaceX vehicle during flight will create an overpressure event that can break windows.

‘Therefore, in order to protect public health and safety, it is recommended that you consider temporarily vacating yourself, other occupants, and pets, from the area during the space flight activities.

‘At a minimum, you must exit your home or structure and be outside of any building on your property when you hear the police sirens which will be activated at the time of the space flight activity to avoid or minimize the risk of injury.’

The warning has upset locals.

‘I am shocked, angry, and concerned about what kind of damage I might sustain,’ Cheryl Stevens, owner of a house in the village, told Business Insider.

Starship was previously known as BFR (Big Falcon Rocket or the Big F***ing Rocket).

During its first test Starhopper was supposed to lift gently off the ground and then touch back down gently in a ‘hop’ taking it 65 feet into the air.

But instead, flames blasted out of the rocket’s top in an embarrassing premature conflagration incident.

‘It appears as though we have had an abort on today’s test. As you can see there, the vehicle did not lift off today,’ said SpaceX engineer Kate Tice.

‘As I mentioned before, this is a development program, today was a test flight designed to test the boundaries of the vehicle.’


There’s no shame in having flames shoot out of the end of your rocket because mishaps like this are just part of parcel of testing a spacecraft.

During a second test., Musk got his rocket up off the ground. It propelled itself to a height of about 20 metres before touching down gently.

The SpaceX founder was very pleased to see his latest creation do its job.

He wrote: ‘Starhopper flight successful. Water towers *can* fly haha!!’

One of his fans then said ‘congrats’ and said ‘the moon is there’, which appears to be a reference to Elon’s lunar-landing ambitions.

Elon replied: ‘Thanks!’

We have written to SpaceX for comment.

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