THE DOWNLOAD: So, this SpaceX thing is pretty cool

By JACOB LOPEZ
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com

Jacob Lopez

Jacob Lopez

Late last week, my editor asked me to drive to Brownsville the following Monday to cover the SpaceX groundbreaking ceremony, and by asked, I mean told.

This meant I had to be up extra-early in order to be at the Brownsville Events Center no later than 8:45 a.m. where a bus would shuttle me, along with a bunch of other members of the press, to the site on Boca Chica Beach.

I’ll be honest. I’m usually not a fan of these kinds of events. They tend to feel very manufactured. It’s good publicity for everyone involved, and a chance for some important people to smile for the camera.

Don’t get me wrong. I understood the significance of SpaceX. It’s a huge — I mean HUGE — deal for us, especially here in the lower Valley. It will create jobs and the launches will bring tourism. We are also likely to see more growth in the area as more companies focused on space exploration make their way in and as SpaceX continues to expand its own facilities. It’s just that, personally, these events feel a little too “market-y,” and scripted for my tastes.

It wasn’t until later that I began writing my story on the groundbreaking ceremony that it started to hit me how cool it actually was to be a part — however insignificant my part may be — of that ceremony. Sure, I was just there to take pictures and write a story, but I got to see history in the making.

My boss, Ray Quiroga, said to me the next morning in his office, “If you’d told me 12 years ago that they’d be launching rockets in my backyard, I would have thought you were crazy.”

It’s true. Just a few years ago, I don’t think any of us could have imagined such a thing.

Forgive my ignorance on the subject (I don’t follow this industry, and I’ve only recently hit an age where I realize that I’m not the center of the universe), but I don’t even think I would have believed we’d be one day privatizing space exploration.

Now I got to see something that will likely be in Texas History books one day, and I saw it first-hand. That’s pretty cool.

Oh yeah, and I mistakenly ate a granola bar that was set aside for a state official, because I thought it was a section of seating reserved for the press.

The representative for SpaceX was quick to get on my case about it. Somebody important (see VIP) was left without a granola bar. My apologies to that guy. The good news is it was delicious, and I’m sure SpaceX can afford another box.

P.S. Really, if you’re the guy that missed out on a granola bar because of me, and you’re reading this, I’m truly sorry.

(Updated: Updated with a link to SpaceX story)

Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2014/09/26/the-download-so-this-spacex-thing-is-pretty-cool/

8 comments

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    • Larry on September 28, 2014 at 5:12 pm
    • Reply

    This is actually one of the best stories I’ve read about SpaceX and its likely impact on the next generation (and I’ve been tracking SpaceX for years :).

      • Jacob Lopez on September 29, 2014 at 8:44 am
      • Reply

      Thanks, Larry. 🙂

    • Rosalinda G. Garcia on September 28, 2014 at 4:59 pm
    • Reply

    You are right Jacob; it is a HUGE thing for the valley. Even though Brownsville got some of our ETJ a few years ago, I am still glad that they got this huge contract. Maybe now that they are going to be making a lot of money in sales tax; we can buy back out ETJ?

    Good story Jacob.

    Thanks for reading my blog.

      • Jacob Lopez on September 29, 2014 at 8:42 am
      • Reply

      Either way, it’s going to affect all of us around it. I imagine for the better. Thanks for reading.

    • matt on September 27, 2014 at 6:00 pm
    • Reply

    Hi don’t worry about the granola bar, we all make mistakes.

      • Jacob Lopez on September 27, 2014 at 11:01 pm
      • Reply

      Thanks, man.

    • Vic Garbutt on September 27, 2014 at 2:11 pm
    • Reply

    Dude where the hell is the story you were supposed to write?

      • Jacob Lopez on September 27, 2014 at 10:58 pm
      • Reply

      I knew I forgot something.

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