Before Brownsville could attract a transformational space project, we first had to believe in ourselves
By Lizzy de la Garza, Class of 2024

Conference information:

• Conference Program
• Space 101: PubCon Primer Session Recording
• Texas Lyceum Fellowship Paper: Making the Space Industry Accessible to Texas High School Students

Reflections:
These essays are the views of the authors alone and do not represent the positions of the Texas Lyceum.

Before Brownsville could attract a transformational space project, we first had to believe in ourselves
By Lizzy de la Garza, Class of 2024

As I listened to Kathy Lueders, general manager of Starbase at SpaceX, at the Texas Lyceum space conference talk about the incredible developments at Starbase, I got goosebumps. I thought back to the time when I was working for the Brownsville Economic Development Council and was part of the team that was actively recruiting SpaceX, working collaboratively as a region and state to bring this home. I remember doing about 100 presentations about SpaceX and the transformational impact this project would have on our region.

Before we could ever achieve anything transformational, we first had to believe in ourselves and dare to dream it was possible for us. And while some naysayers questioned, criticized and ridiculed us for dreaming BIG, our community proved to the world that we are capable, and we are worthy.

So here we are: Texas at the forefront, leading space exploration with the help of the Rio Grande Valley and my hometown, Brownsville (Boca Chica), where Starship, THE most powerful launch system ever developed, is being built.

While a major goal of space exploration is to make life interplanetary, I was reminded that space exploration affects every aspect of our daily lives here on earth. Space impacts communication, navigation, transportation, city planning, agriculture, maritime, manufacturing, the environment, health and medical research, national security, finance, energy and situational awareness. Most of our day-to-day activity and business on earth is reliant on information that’s coming from space.

Texas, as the eighth largest economy in the world, plays a critical role on the global stage as a leader in innovation, technological advancements and space exploration. The Rio Grande Valley is a huge part of this role as it supports the development of Starbase. We are collectively making historical strides to help ensure Texas is at the forefront in the race to space and beyond.