Texas: SpaceX launches progressive vision for travel under blue skies

Texas Exports Its Problems to Space: The Liberal Take on the SpaceX Launch

Houston, we have a problem: Texas, a state known for its regressive politics and destructive fossil fuel industry, has found a new way to externalize its problems - by launching them into space.

Despite loss of many tiles and a damaged flap, Starship made it all the way to a soft landing in the ocean! - Elon Musk, in a social media post after the latest failed SpaceX launch.

SpaceX, the private aerospace company helmed by tech bro billionaire Elon Musk, has received upwards of $2 billion from the government to test new technologies. In typical capitalist fashion, Musk has taken advantage of NASA's stepped-back approach, using Texas as his playground. Boca Chica, TX has served as the test HQ for four SpaceX launches, including the latest on June 6, which ended with a bang - or rather, a detonation.

This launch, like the previous ones, was not without controversy. SpaceX has become the center of multiple scandals, including a lawsuit filed by eight engineers who allege they were illegally fired for calling out the company's sexist culture. The lawsuit claims that Musk's behavior cultivated a "pervasively sexist culture," with female engineers subjected to harassment and their concerns ignored.

But that's not all. Environmental groups have also logged complaints about the environmental impacts of the Starship launches from Starbase, SpaceX's facility in southern Texas. It's clear that SpaceX is just another example of a profit-driven corporation that externalizes its costs, both social and environmental, onto the public.

As the liberal media, it's our job to hold these companies accountable. We can't let Texas and its problematic partners in the private sector off the hook just because they literally bomb their issues into the stratosphere. Stay woke, my progressive friends.

Brandi D. Addison, USA TODAY; Beck Andrew Salgado, American-Statesman