Elon Musk flies to Waco-area SpaceX facility ahead of critical Starship test

Elon Musk flew from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California to a private airstrip near Waco, Texas on June 1, 2026, covering 425 nautical miles in just under two and a half hours aboard his Gulfstream G450, tail N450GG. The late-morning arrival put him within 30 miles of SpaceX's McGregor rocket development facility, his primary destination for the day.

Same week, SpaceX is gearing up for a critical static fire test of the Starship upper stage at McGregor, as covered by SpaceNews this week — a milestone that will determine the timeline for the next orbital flight. Musk's trip from Southern California, where SpaceX maintains engine design offices, underscores the high stakes: he was last in McGregor for a similar test in March 2025, according to flight logs.

The visit continues a pattern of intense cross-country shuttling between California aerospace centers and Texas test ranges. Earlier that same day, Musk's fleet logged hops from Seattle to San Jose and from San Francisco to Los Angeles, reflecting a calendar packed with board meetings and technical reviews — the kind of schedule that keeps five Gulfstreams and a new G800 busy.