News Nation by Sandra Sanchez 9/15/2021
The Federal Aviation Administration says it is tracking SpaceX and environmental concerns regarding the company’s desire to launch its massive Starship Spacecraft from its launch facility on the southern tip of Texas.
“SpaceX cannot launch the Starship/Super Heavy vehicle until the FAA completes its licensing process, which includes the ongoing environmental review and other safety and financial responsibility requirements,” an FAA official wrote in an email Tuesday to Border Report.
“As part of this process, analyses are being conducted that determine collective risk, individual risk and hazard areas on the ground, sea and in the air. SpaceX would not receive a license if it cannot meet FAA safety regulations,” the FAA wrote.
The statements came in response to an article by Border Report on Thursday in which local environmentalists sent the federal agency a letter demanding data and information on the risks to border communities and wildlife from ongoing rocket testing and launches at SpaceX’s facility near Boca Chica Beach, Texas.
The nonprofit organization Save RGV on Aug. 30 wrote the agency saying the massive Starship Spacecraft “poses an unacceptable risk of harm to the nearby communities” as well as wildlife, parks and “surrounding fragile tidal wetlands” that are home to many endangered species, such as sea turtles. And they want more oversight since this spacecraft is far bigger and more powerful from what SpaceX initially had proposed and gotten approval from the FAA to test and launch when it first built the launch facility in 2014.
More:
https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/southwest/faa-says-its-keeping-tabs-on-spacex-over-environmental-concerns-in-south-texas/
