The Spacecraft Tracking and Astronomical Research into Gigahertz Astrophysical Transient Emission facility was proposed in 2012 by Fredrick (Rick) Jenet, director of the Center for Advanced Radio Astronomy (CARA) and an associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Texas-Brownsville.
In 2014, following the announcement of the SpaceX private spaceport being built near Boca Chica Beach, the Brownsville Economic Development Council (BEDC) purchased several lots in Boca Chica Village totaling approximately from the SpaceX launch site and renamed it as the STARGATE subdivision.