Grim reality of living near SpaceX testing facility shared by Texas residents on TikTok

Residents living near the SpaceX testing facility in McGregor, Texas, are speaking out on the effect it's had on their homes.

While SpaceX has a number of testing facilities and launch sites, the one in McGregor, which has been operating since 2003, with over 7,000 tests conducted (around seven per day) at the base since it opened.

In fact, every single rocket engine and thruster manufactured by Elon Musk's space company has to undergo rigorous safety and reliability testing at the facility before being used on any flight mission.

Sounds like a noisy place to be, right? Residents seem to think so.

One TikTok user, who goes by The Feral Guru, has been sharing footage from her home 12 miles away from the testing facility.

In one clip, ornaments in her home can be seen rattling and her blinds shaking, while a rumbling sound likened to an earthquake persists in the background.

"It's rattling this s***", she tells the camera, before panning around multiple doorways in her home where cracks and structural damage has been caused in the walls from the shaking.

She also claims that many homes on her street have undergone "multiple" foundation repairs which "aren't cheap" in the six years since she moved in.

In another clip, taken in December 2024, viewers are able to physically hear the walls cracking in her home.

"This is three minutes in [to the test]...the whole house is vibrating", she says, before adding: "We've lived here since 2018 and that's by far the most intense test there's been."

Other reports suggest that residents in the surrounding areas have been complaining for "years" about its impact, with locals citing broken windows, and foundation shifts being reported as just some of the issues.

Oglesby resident, Steve Kepple, told the Gatesville Messenger: “It’s getting worse all the time. Unfortunately, we’re losing things on the shelves, and it’s about to shake the windows out. The biggest thing I’m sad about is that they use millions of gallons of water to turn into steam from the local wells [on SpaceX property], and over here our wells are dry.”

Users in the comments have likened the case to that of Erin Brockovich, who took on Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), when the water in her town was being polluted by their activity.

"It's like putting your foundation through an earthquake every single day, that's so insane!", one person wrote.

"This is exactly why Elon Musk moved his test site to Texas and not in Florida-Cape Canaveral bc there is less regulation in good old Texas", another added.

Indy100 has reached out to SpaceX for comment.

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