There are no environmental barriers in SpaceX’s plans to launch a new giant rocket into orbit from South Texas, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday.
The agency’s environmental assessment concluded that SpaceX’s plans for orbital launches would not have a “significant impact” on the Gulf Coast region near Brownsville, Texas. But the FAA also requires the company to take more than 75 actions to minimize the impact on surrounding areas when it launches Starship, a vehicle central to NASA’s plans to return to the moon and Elon Musk’s vision. founder and CEO of the company, to colonize Mars.
Actions to be taken by Mr. Musk’s company include early notification of launches, monitoring of vegetation and wildlife by a biologist, coordination with state and federal agencies to remove remnants of launches from sensitive habitats, and adjusting lighting for reducing the impact on wildlife and the nearby beach.
The mitigation measures required by the FAA also limit the closure of a highway that runs past the SpaceX site during launches, so that people can visit the nearby beach, park and wildlife sanctuary. The agency said the highway could not be closed on 18 holidays and no more than five weekends a year.
The decision means there is no need for a more comprehensive environmental impact statement, which is likely to add years to the project. This decision disappointed some members of the community.
“It’s ridiculous to say there’s no significant impact on them,” said Jim Chapman, a board member of Save RGV, a nonprofit environmental group working to protect the Rio Grande Valley. “The impact is just too great. We still feel that way. The FAA had to admit that. “
Mr Chapman said he hoped his group could file a lawsuit to impose a more comprehensive environmental review. And SpaceX has yet to get a license from the FAA for launches.
The SpaceX site is located in a small village called Boca Chica, which the company called Starbase.
There, SpaceX has been working for several years on Starship, a stainless steel giant that will be the most powerful rocket ever. Along with the amplifying stage, it will be nearly 400 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty and its pedestal.
In addition, unlike any previous orbital rocket, it will be entirely reusable. This has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of sending a payload into orbit – less than $ 10 million to launch 100 tons into space, Mr Musk said.
Boca Chica’s website offers several factors that make it a good place to launch rockets into orbit. With the exception of the bottom of the Florida peninsula, it is as far south as the continental United States can be reached. For many missions, a launch pad closer to the equator helps travel to orbit by adding the speed of the Earth’s rotation to the speed of the rocket.
The launch route passes over water, away from populated areas, minimizing the risk to people on earth.
But other creatures live in the surrounding wetlands, including ocelots and Kemp sea turtles, both of which are endangered. State Highway 4, which runs to the SpaceX site, also runs through Boca Chica Beach, Texas State Parks and the Lower Rio Grande National Wildlife Refuge. Environmentalists are worried that the steady pace of Starship’s launches with thunder and rocket explosions, as well as potential explosive accidents, will disrupt the ecosystem.
Among SpaceX’s plans for Boca Chika, which will affect the environment: launch of a natural gas plant to provide fuel for Starship; installation of a solar energy farm; construction of parking lots; construction of processing facilities that will transport the cargo Starship; and conducting more test flights, which increases the likelihood of additional test explosions that could send debris and strong shock waves for miles.
The site also created an economic debate. Many employees and residents welcome the influx of money and prestige that SpaceX brings to the Brownsville area, where about a third of people live below the poverty line. But others worry that gentrification will drive out longtime residents.
In 2014, the FAA gave SpaceX an environmental permit to test and launch its smaller Falcon 9. In the last few years, the Falcon 9 has become the most frequently launched rocket on the planet. But SpaceX never launched any of Boca Chica, instead using its other sites in California and Florida.
And Starship is far larger than the Falcon 9 – a spaceship lined up on a giant booster called Super Heavy – with greater impacts on surrounding areas.
Thus, the FAA requires a new environmental assessment before SpaceX tries to launch Starship into orbit. During the first orbital test flight, the Super Heavy accelerator will attempt a controlled landing in the Gulf of Mexico, while the Starship phase will attempt to land in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii after an orbit.
The agency released a draft of the document in September, which does not suggest major obstacles that would require SpaceX to draw up a full-fledged environmental impact statement. He planned to release a final version in late December, but postponed the date several times, citing the need to consider 18,000 comments on the preliminary document.
In an update to the Starship program in February, Mr Musk said he hoped the FAA would soon give the green light to SpaceX to continue. “We have received some rough indication that there may be approval in March,” Mr Musk said.
That did not happen, but Mr Musk said at the time that the orbiting attempt could take place “several months” after approval. The company has not yet announced an updated launch schedule based on Monday’s decision.
SpaceX also intends to launch starships from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
In addition to possible trips to Mars, Starship should be used by NASA to transport astronauts from orbit around the moon to its surface. The company won a $ 2.9 billion contract for the mission, ahead of two other players: Blue Origin, the rocket company founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and defense contractor Dynetics. On paper, the moon landing is planned for 2025, but is expected to be postponed. In addition to working on Starship, the return of astronauts to the moon requires the Space Launch System, another large rocket developed by NASA that also lags behind schedule.
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