Border Report by Sandra Sanchez 7/1/2020
EXCLUSIVE: SpaceX facility under FAA review after changing rocket tests in South Texas
Residents, environmentalists charge SpaceX with 'bait and switch' to communityBOCA CHICA BEACH, Texas (Border Report) — Ellen Tyma and Dan Griffen built their retirement home 15 years ago on the banks of the Rio Grande to spend the days kayaking, jet skiing and enjoying the river. But since SpaceX built its South Texas launch facility 12 miles away, their quiet lives have been upended.
Now, without warning, the main road leading to their home and a popular beach is frequently closed for test launches, including twice last week.
The couple and other South Texans say when SpaceX was wooing the community in 2013 to develop its site here, they billed it as a launch facility — not a testing facility.
Since opening, SpaceX’s mission and projects at the facility have substantially changed and many residents now want more federal regulation on the activities at this site. They also want another environmental impact study done to ensure that these added tests do not pose a threat to communities or nearby wildlife, especially after the recent May 29 explosion of a rocket engine during a test — caught on camera by Border Report — and a July 2019 brush fire ignited by another test.
More:
https://www.borderreport.com/hot-topics/exclusive-faa-is-investigating-south-texas-launch-facility-after-change-in-rocket-tests-by-spacex/
