2023-05-09 19:10:26
After the explosion in flight of the Starship rocket, environmental defense associations denounce the license granted to Elon Musk’s company for new launch operations.
The response came on May 1, ten days after the explosion in flight of the latest generation Starship rocket. The first test launch operated by SpaceX, billionaire Elon Musk’s company, ended on April 20 in a cloud of dust and debris that fell well beyond the launch pad, in the Boca Chica region of Texas.
Ulcerated by the damage caused to this fragile natural area, several environmental defense associations have filed a legal appeal against the license granted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for new launch operations.
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The NGOs criticize the American regulator for not having sufficiently taken into account the risks incurred by local biodiversity, and demand a “more comprehensive environmental review”. A petition has also been launched.
“The FAA has authorized SpaceX to launch 20 Starship/Super Heavy rockets each year for the next five yearssays their press release. They’re the biggest rockets ever made, and they’re being launched right next to crucial habitat, putting wildlife at risk and harming the interests of Texas residents.»
Consequences on the climate
The supply of machines with liquid methane – a powerful greenhouse gas – is also singled out for its consequences on the climate. The lawsuit involves the Center for Biological Diversity, Surfrider, the American Bird Conservancy, Save the Rio Grande Valley and the Carrizo Comecrudo Native American Tribe.
Located on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the launch site chosen by SpaceX is surrounded by public lands protected because of their ecological interest, including the national wildlife reserve of the lower Rio Grande valley. The area is made up of marshes, salt meadows, mudflats and mangroves.
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The sand dunes and small clay hills are home to rare wild plants and animals, such as the ocelot and the jaguarundi, two endangered American felines. The Kemp’s turtle, one of the most endangered in the world, also nests there in spring and summer on certain beaches.
The area is also an essential stopover for migratory birds, such as the US state-protected piping plover. “These shorebirds are the fastest disappearinglaments Mike Parr, president of the American Bird Conservancy. When should we say to ourselves “space exploration is very good, but we must save life on Earth as a priority”?
Bush or forest fires
In addition to damage from construction activities and vehicle traffic, rocket launches create “intense heat, noise and light pollution”lists the 30-page complaint filed in Washington District Court.
The explosions – the associations have counted eight in five years – regularly trigger bush or forest fires. Spectacular, that of April 20 occurred at an altitude of about thirty kilometers. The released particles drifted up to 10 kilometers from the site to the northwest.
The partial destruction of the launch pad, due to the power of the 30 take-off engines, threw large pieces of concrete and steel sheets into the surrounding dunes.
70 measures
The complaint finally denounces the limitations of access to the natural parks which adjoin the launch site. According to the associations, the project would thus close, “up to 800 hours per year, the only public road to popular Boca Chica Beach, one of the few undeveloped stretches of sand in the area.
“These closures can happen almost anytime without notice.says Sarah Damron, Regional Director of the Surfrider Foundation. This is an unacceptable loss for area residents and for the people of Texas.”
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70 measures intended to mitigate the impact of SpaceX’s activities on the environment have been required by the FAA. The aerospace company was thus asked to limit the impact of noise and light, to assess the consequences of take-offs on fauna and to clean up debris.
More “the agency has not explored other options, including reducing launch activity at Boca Chica or using an alternate site, such as the Kennedy Space Center which SpaceX itself considers an alternative possible”notes the complaint.
Wait for the green light from the FAA
The Starship program has been suspended since April 20 to clean up and assess the damage. SpaceX notably plans to install a cooling system and steel reinforcements for the launch tower.
Elon Musk assures that the company could be ready for another test of the rocket within two months, but it will have to wait anyway for the FAA to give the green light after the investigation has begun into the causes of the explosion. of the first flight.
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