OSHA is investigating worker deaths at SpaceX’s Starbase facility

A worker died at SpaceX’s Starbase launch site in South Texas on Friday, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has opened an investigation.

The The San Antonio Express-News reported Monday that the unidentified victim died at approximately 4:17 am local time on May 15, citing OSHA and government officials. The Wall Street Journal later reported that the county sheriff confirmed at the store that the servant died. OSHA has confirmed to TechCrunch that it is investigating the apparent accident.

Representatives of the nearby Brownsville police and fire department did not respond to requests for comment. SpaceX and the new Starbase City did not respond to requests for comment.

The circumstances of the employee’s death were not immediately known. OSHA told TechCrunch it won’t release more information until its investigation is complete, which could take months.

The death comes just days before the first launch of SpaceX’s advanced Starship rocket. Elon Musk’s space company is said to be releasing details of its next public offering this week, which is expected to be the biggest yet when it takes place next month.

SpaceX has been grappling with safety issues for workers at its Starbase facility, which oversees Starship launches and is a construction site.

In 2025, TechCrunch OSHA data analysis and concluded that the Texas launch site had a higher injury rate than its industrial competitors, and was the most dangerous at the SpaceX facility. A 2023 Reuters investigation found dozens of unreported injuries and the death of a worker in 2014 at SpaceX’s McGregor, Texas test site.

In January, OSHA hit SpaceX with seven “serious” safety violations, including failing to properly inspect a crane before it crashed at Starbase last June. The agency fined SpaceX for six of the seven violations, totaling $115,850. SpaceX is challenging the sanctions, federal records show.

The company has been involved in several lawsuits related to injuries that occurred at Starbase in recent years. In December, an employee of one of SpaceX’s contractors filed a lawsuit after being crushed by a large piece of metal that fell from a crane. The worker, Eduardo Cavazos, suffered a broken hip, knee, and tibia, and OSHA opened an “urgent investigation,” according to TechCrunch. first report in December.

OSHA also quickly closed the investigation without further action, according to a TechCrunch public records request. And the case was recently dismissed because the employee, a minor, has workers’ compensation insurance that prevents him from being sued, according to Cavazos’ attorney.