SpaceX has been buying land in Boca Chica since 2019 as the Starship operation kicks off. Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc / Corbis via Getty Images
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is used to looking up at the stars, but its latest project is more firmly planted here on Earth. In addition to commercializing giant rockets and flying humans to Mars, the rocket company seems to be turning a small village in southern Texas into a space-themed luxury resort.
According to a new post on their website, SpaceX is looking for an experienced resort development manager to lead a massive construction project in Boca Chica, a once sheltered beach town near the startup of the company Starship.
“Boca Chica Village is our latest launch site dedicated to Starship, our next generation launched car. SpaceX is committed to developing this city into a 21st century Spaceport, ‘reads the job advertisement. “We are looking for a talented Resort Development Manager to oversee the development of SpaceX’s first resort from start to finish.”
LOOK AT: Elon Musk, who made $ 2 billion this week, pushes for more incentives for the unemployed
The position requires a bachelor’s degree and more than five years of experience in managing construction projects. The preferred skills include experience working for “luxury high end market development” and “developing in areas with no prior infrastructure.” And like everyone who worked for Elon Musk, the ideal candidate would have been better prepared to work long hours and weekends as needed, the job post says.
SpaceX has not confirmed any plans to develop a luxury resort in Boca Chica. If such a project is underway, it is still in the early stages, considering the job advertisement. In addition to a resort manager, SpaceX is also looking for a temporary space port development specialist to “assist in all aspects of project execution to build the Boca Chica launch site as needed, including aesthetic improvements to industrial design.”
SpaceX captured Boca Chica as the test and launch site of its Mars colonizing spaceship Starship in 2014. SpaceX’s entry has been met with strong opposition from local residents, as the rocket company obliges them to register with the province, badges to wear and sometimes evacuate on launch days, which happens once a month and only gets more frequent.
When SpaceX built the Starship project, the company also acquired land around Boca Chica, offering local homeowners three times the appraised value of their property. Many residents have taken the money and moved it. But there are still a few holdouts. Some owners have complained that SpaceX’s ratings do not reflect the fair market value of their homes.
Starship is SpaceX’s ultimate space car that allows humans to fly to the moon and Mars and beyond. To date, the company has built six starships of the Starship with mixed test results.
On August 4, the last Starship prototype, SN5, completed a ‘hop’ for the first time and flew in the air for about 40 seconds.
Starship takes flight pic.twitter.com/IWvwcA05hl
– SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 5, 2020
