Lawsuit: Residents say SpaceX rocket tests shook homes, shattered windows

NATIONWIDE PARTIZAN ARMS RACE. LINDSEY. ALL RIGHT GREG, THANK YOU. NEARLY 80 TEXAS HOMEOWNERS ARE SUING SPACEX, CLAIMING THE COMPANY’S MEGA ROCKET TEST FLIGHTS DAMAGED THEIR PROPERTIES. THIS REALLY MATTERS HERE BECAUSE THAT SAME ROCKET IS EXPECTED TO MAKE ITS WAY TO THE SPACE COAST THIS YEAR. WESH TWO SPACEX REPORTER MEGHAN MORIARTY IS LIVE AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER WITH THEIR CLAIMS. MEGAN. WELL, SPACEX IS ALREADY BUILDING ITS LAUNCH PAD FOR THE MEGA ROCKET HERE AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, AND THERE HAVE BEEN CONCERNS FROM SOME BREVARD RESIDENTS ABOUT HOW THAT ROCKET WILL IMPACT THEM. NOW, WE KNOW THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME RESIDENTS IN BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS, WHO ARE CLAIMING THAT THE ROCKET HAS DAMAGED THEIR HOMES. A RECENTLY FILED 59 PAGE LAWSUIT ALLEGES ELON MUSK’S SPACEX STARSHIP ROCKET IS CAUSING DAMAGE TO ROUGHLY 80 PEOPLE’S HOMES IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY. BROWNSVILLE IS ONE OF THE POOREST COMMUNITIES IN THE COUNTRY. WESH TWO TRAVELED TO BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS, TO VISIT STARBASE, THE CITY THAT HOUSES THE MEGA ROCKET. SO WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS ONE OF THE RICHEST MEN IN THE WORLD BLOWING UP ROCKETS IN A LOW INCOME BROWN COMMUNITY. WE SPOKE TO BECCA ENOSA, FOUNDER OF THE SOUTH TEXAS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE NETWORK, BACK IN NOVEMBER. SHE’S NOT A PLAINTIFF IN THE LAWSUIT. MANY PEOPLE IN HER NETWORK ARE. THE LAWSUIT STATES SPACEX HAS REPEATEDLY SUBJECTED THE SURROUNDING AREAS TO EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNTS OF ACOUSTIC ENERGY, INCLUDING NOISE, VIBRATIONS AND SONIC BOOMS. IT GOES ON TO SAY SPACEX EXPLICITLY ENGINEERED THE SITE TO SUPPORT THE MOST ENERGETICALLY VIOLENT AND ACOUSTICALLY SEVERE ROCKET LAUNCHES IN HUMAN HISTORY. BETWEEN ITS FIRST FLIGHT IN APRIL OF 2023, THERE’S BEEN 11 TEST FLIGHTS. THE SUIT DOESN’T NAME SPECIFIC DAMAGE TO EACH RESIDENT’S HOME, BUT SHOWS A CHART SHOWING POSSIBLE BUILDING DAMAGE DUE TO SONIC BOOMS, INCLUDING CRACKS IN PLASTER, CRACKS IN GLASS, DAMAGE TO ROOFS AND DAMAGE TO OUTSIDE WALLS. WHILE WE’RE IN BROWNSVILLE, LAST YEAR, WE DID SPEAK WITH SEVERAL HOMEOWNERS AND IT WAS PRETTY SPLIT, WITH SOME SAYING THEIR WINDOWS SHATTERED, OTHERS SAYING THEY NEVER EXPERIENCED ANY DAMAGE AT ALL. WHILE SPACEX HAS NEVER PUBLICLY COMMENTED ON THESE CLAIMS, THEY DO HAVE WAYS FOR FAMILIES TO SUBMIT PROPERTY DAMAGE CLAIMS. THE LAWSUIT IS ASKING FOR MORE THAN $1 MILLION IN DAMAGES. NOW, SPACEX HAS NOT PUBLICLY COMMENTED ON THIS LAWSUIT, AND THEY HAVE NOT COMMENTED IN THE COURT DOCUMENTS AS WELL. AND THERE ARE NO FOLLOW UP HEARINGS SCHEDULED FOR NOW. NOW, LIKE WE MENTIONED, SPACEX IS STILL ACTIVELY BUILDING ITS MEGA OR GIGA BAY RATHER, AS WELL AS ITS LAUNCH PAD FOR THAT STARSHIP ROCKET. WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO THEM FOR COMMENT, B

Lawsuit: Residents say SpaceX rocket tests shook homes, shattered windows

Updated: 2:21 PM CDT May 6, 2026

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A recently filed 59-page lawsuit alleges Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship rocket is causing damage to roughly 80 people’s homes in the Rio Grande Valley.”Brownsville is one of the poorest communities in the country,” Bekah Hinojosa told sister station WESH in November when we traveled to the Brownsville area. It is 20 miles from Starbase, which houses the mega-rocket. “What we have here is one of the richest men in the world blowing up rockets in a low-income, Brown community.”Hinojosa is the founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network. While she is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit, many people in her network are.The lawsuit alleges SpaceX has “repeatedly subjected the surrounding areas to extraordinary amounts of acoustic energy, including noise, vibrations and sonic booms.”It goes on to say the company “explicitly engineered the site to support the most energetically violent and acoustically severe rocket launches in human history.”The suit does not name specific damage to each resident’s home but does include dates. It also includes a chart showing possible building damage due to sonic booms, including cracks in plaster and glass, and damage to roofs and exterior walls.Between April 2023 and October 2025, there have been 11 Starship test flights.Several homeowners in Brownsville had split feelings on the impact. Some said their windows shattered, while others said they never experienced any damage. The lawsuit is seeking more than $1 million in damages.SpaceX has not responded to the lawsuit. While SpaceX has never publicly commented on this, it does have ways for families to submit property damage claims.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas —

A recently filed 59-page lawsuit alleges Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship rocket is causing damage to roughly 80 people’s homes in the Rio Grande Valley.

“Brownsville is one of the poorest communities in the country,” Bekah Hinojosa told sister station WESH in November when we traveled to the Brownsville area. It is 20 miles from Starbase, which houses the mega-rocket. “What we have here is one of the richest men in the world blowing up rockets in a low-income, Brown community.”

Hinojosa is the founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network. While she is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit, many people in her network are.

The lawsuit alleges SpaceX has “repeatedly subjected the surrounding areas to extraordinary amounts of acoustic energy, including noise, vibrations and sonic booms.”

It goes on to say the company “explicitly engineered the site to support the most energetically violent and acoustically severe rocket launches in human history.”

The suit does not name specific damage to each resident’s home but does include dates. It also includes a chart showing possible building damage due to sonic booms, including cracks in plaster and glass, and damage to roofs and exterior walls.

Between April 2023 and October 2025, there have been 11 Starship test flights.

Several homeowners in Brownsville had split feelings on the impact. Some said their windows shattered, while others said they never experienced any damage.

The lawsuit is seeking more than $1 million in damages.

SpaceX has not responded to the lawsuit. While SpaceX has never publicly commented on this, it does have ways for families to submit property damage claims.