Elon Musk’s rocket company is taking one step further in controlling nearly every stage of its supply chain, building its own natural gas infrastructure to fuel upcoming Starship launches.
SpaceX plans on building a natural gas pipeline stretching across 8 miles (14 kilometers) to its Starbase facility in Texas, Reuters reported based on county filings. The pipeline, called Starpipe, is expected to provide enough propellant for SpaceX’s Starship rocket to fly dozens of times a year.
The move highlights SpaceX’s vision to maintain end-to-end control of its supply chain, minimizing the company’s dependence on outside providers for much-needed resources.
Let’s build a Starpipe
SpaceX affiliate Lone Star Mineral Development filed a document with the Texas Railroad Commission last month, revealing its plans to venture into the natural gas industry, according to the Reuters report. Starpipe would allow SpaceX to process its own propellant by extracting natural gas and liquefying it to use as fuel for the company’s rockets.
Starship uses around 630,000 gallons (2.4 million liters) of liquid methane per launch. The Federal Aviation Administration has approved up to 25 Starship launches a year, up from the previous limit of five.
The largest rocket ever built has flown on 12 test flights since its debut in April 2023, but SpaceX plans on launching hundreds of Starship missions a year as it aims for rapid reusability. The company has been heavily investing in expanding Starship’s launch infrastructure to support much higher flight rates in the future.
SpaceX’s plan to build Starpipe aligns with the company’s focus on Starship’s increased launch cadence.
A rocket’s pipeline
Earlier this year, SpaceX received approval to lease 83 acres of land on the south side of the Port of Brownsville. The pipeline would begin at the company’s newly acquired land and end at Starbase.
The company also plans on building its own liquefaction facility at Starbase to process the natural gas into liquid methane, according to documents filed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Reuters reported.
The pipeline, which is expected to be in service by January 2026, will measure 16 inches (406 millimeters) wide, supplying enough natural gas to fuel more than Starship’s currently approved 25 launches a year.
SpaceX already has the private space industry in a chokehold, dominating low-Earth orbit with its Starlink satellites and operating the most reliable launch vehicle, the Falcon 9 rocket. Starpipe is another way for SpaceX to strengthen its hold in the industry by controlling as much of its supply chain as possible using the company’s own capital.
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