SpaceX shuttles employees from Texas to Los Angeles after Starship booster test

SpaceX flew its Boeing 737-800, tail number N154TS, from Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport on May 9, 2026. Departing just after midnight local time, the three-hour flight carried employees back to the company's Southern California hub, reaching a maximum altitude of 30,025 feet and ground speed of 482 knots.

The timing aligns with a major milestone at Starbase: on May 7, SpaceX conducted a full-duration static fire test of its Version 3 Super Heavy booster, igniting all 33 Raptor engines at full thrust, as reported by spaceflight observers and covered in updates from SpaceX tracking sites. This test paves the way for the next Starship orbital flight attempt, drawing engineers westward for analysis and planning at the Hawthorne headquarters where much of the rocket's design and manufacturing occurs.

Such shuttles are routine for SpaceX, which operates N154TS as a high-capacity employee transport between its Texas launch site and California base, logging over 116 flights in 2024 alone and emitting more than 2,000 metric tons of CO2. Recent patterns show similar back-and-forth runs, including multiple trips on May 4 between Los Angeles, Seattle, and Brownsville, underscoring the company's relentless pace—even if it means burning jet fuel to chase rocket dreams.