SpaceX shakes up Starship leadership in Texas as push for the rocket’s next milestone intensifies

An aerial view of a Starship prototype stacked on a Super Heavy booster at the company’s Starbase facility outside of Brownsville, Texas.

A reorganization is underway at Musk's space company in Texas.

Two of the most influential executives at the company aside from Musk himself are now overseeing the facility and operations of the company.

After spending more than two years working on the next-generation rocket in Texas, the senior director of Starship operations is moving to the company's Cape Canaveral facilities. Before moving to Star base, he was based at the Cape.

A vice president of Starship production was brought on as a result of the space venture.

The new responsibilities for Shotwell and Juncosa were previously reported by The Information. CNBC asked the company for comment on the reorganization.

The main hub for development, testing and launches of the nearly 400 foot tall Starship rocket is located outside of the city of Brownsville in Texas. NASA's plan to return astronauts to the moon is dependent on the ability of the rocket to carry cargo and people beyond the earth.

The appointments show the company's determination to get the plane flying. Shotwell and Juncosa have been at the company.

One of the people familiar with the situation told CNBC that Juncosa went to Starbase over the summer to bring a new perspective and update Musk and Shotwell on the progress of the site.

A person called Juncosa's findings alarming, with an Orbital launch attempt further away than expected. Delays in progress and regulatory approval have delayed the launch of the first spaceship by a year.

According to NASA, the agency has been told that the first orbital launch of Starship could happen as early as December.

An aerial view of the company’s Starbase facility outside of Brownsville, Texas.

In June, the Federal Aviation Administration completed an environmental assessment of the Starbase facility, which is needed for the company to receive a license from the federal regulators. As a result of the FAA decision, the company had to take more than 75 environmental steps. CNBC asked the FAA for an update on the process on Friday, but they didn't reply.

The Super Heavy booster is powered by the same engines that power the company's Falcon series of rockets.

A year ago, Musk described a "crisis" with Raptor engine production, which resulted in the removal of a vice president from the program. Each Super Heavy booster requires 33 engines, and each Starship rocket has six.

Musk has been pushing for employees at its Hawthorne, California, headquarters to move to Starbase to help with the effort.

People familiar with the situation told CNBC that last week, the company offered to raise pay for employees who moved to south Texas. CNBC learned that the company increased its hourly pay rates for non-salaried Star Base employees.

This year, Musk's company is launching rockets at a rapid pace, as well as flying cargo and crew missions for NASA and other organizations. The rocket needed to deploy the second generation of Starlink satellites is the key to further growth of the $127 billion company.

A lot of private missions are being built on the rocket by the company.

The company's last flight test with a prototype was in May of 2021. In the last few months, there have been more robust tests of the Super Heavy booster prototype number seven.