SpaceX plans to 'drill for natural gas' near Texas' Boca Chica launchpad

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently moved to Texas and now he plans to drill for natural gas in the state, according to Bloomberg. Space X launches rockets and Musk is also building a battery factor in Texas. During a hearing before the Railroad Commission of Texas, which the state’s energy regulator, Musk’s SpaceX on January 22 revealed that they intend to drill wells close to the company’s Boca Chica launchpad. 

The production of the natural gas is yet to start because of a legal dispute between the SpaceX subsidiary Lone Star Mineral Development and another energy company. During Friday’s hearing, the attorney representing Lone Star, Tim George, said that Musk’s space company plans to use the methane extracts from the group in connection with their rocket facility operations. However, it is still not clear what exactly the gas would be used for. But SpaceX plans to utilise super-chilled liquid methane and liquid oxygen as fuel for its Raptor engines. 

It is worth noting that SpaceX’s Starship and Super Heavy vehicles are tested at Boca Chica and orbital laches are planned for the site. Meanwhile, back in December Musk had said that he is relocation to Texas to focus on SpaceX’s Starship vehicle and Tesla’s new Gigafactory, which is being built near Austin. His past comments have suggested that he wants to use the tech to produce synthetic carbon-neutral rocket fuel. 

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Musk’s carbon capture competition 

On January 21, Musk even announced a $100 million prize for the development of the “best” technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions. The recent initiative by Musk constitutes his single-largest philanthropic investment to date. He is currently the wealthiest human on the planet, yet for being among the wealthiest people, his philanthropic track record over the years has been paltry compared to the likes of Jeff Bezos. His announcement of prize money for carbon capturing, therefore, came as a bit of a surprise. 

Musk announced the carbon capture competition, the details of which are expected to arrive “next week”. The world is growing warm due to humanity’s insistence on burning fossil fuels, therefore, capturing planet-warming emissions is becoming a critical part of many plans in a bid to keep climate change in check. The International Energy Agency last year had also said that a sharp rise in the deployment of carbon capture technology was needed if countries are to meet net-zero emissions targets. 

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