The FAA releases initial report on Boca Chica launches, and it’s not terrible

[Elderberry]

ARS Technica by Eric Berger - 9/17/2021

"Support is greatly appreciated!"

The Federal Aviation Administration released a draft environmental review of SpaceX's plans for orbital launches from South Texas on Friday, kicking off a 30-day public comment period.

The long-awaited procedural step is the first of several regulatory hurdles that SpaceX must clear before obtaining final permission to launch its Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage from a site near Boca Chica, Texas. Such a launch likely remains months away, but it now appears that the feds will ultimately greenlight South Texas for orbital launches. That seemed far from assured before today.

The document, formally called a Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment, evaluates the potential environmental impacts of SpaceX’s Starship program, including launch and reentry. It also reviews debris recovery, the integration tower and other launch-related construction, and local road closures between Brownsville and Boca Chica beach.

More: https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/09/the-faa-releases-initial-report-on-boca-chica-launches-and-its-not-terrible/

[Elderberry]

Federal Aviation Administration Filing Shows Big SpaceX Plans

Government Technology  by Steve Clark The Brownsville Herald September 20, 2021

https://www.govtech.com/news/federal-aviation-administration-filing-shows-big-spacex-plans

The government is expecting SpaceX to ultimately make the cost of space transportation more affordable because the private company has plans to reuse its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy boosters.

The government is expecting SpaceX to make the cost of space transportation more affordable because the company plans to reuse its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy boosters. In April NASA awarded the company a $2.9 billion contract to develop Starship as the lunar lander for putting U.S. astronauts on the moon for the first time since 1972.

More than 320 comments were submitted as part of the scoping phase of the PEA. The commenters expressed concerns over the potential impacts of SpaceX's plans on protected species and habitat, cumulative effects on other development projects in the Rio Grande Valley, closure of public areas, namely S.H. 4 and Boca Chica Beach, and appropriateness of an environmental assessment versus the more rigorous environmental impact statement.

Commenters likewise expressed concerns about potential impacts on airspace, minority and low-income residents, and land of cultural importance; safety of launch operations with as-yet-to-be-constructed liquefied natural gas facilities nearby at the Port of Brownsville, and environmental degradation.

Comments in favor of SpaceX mentioned economic benefits to the regional economy, innovation and progress in commercial space transportation, the benefits of reusable launch vehicles, and job creation. The FAA said all comments received were given equal weight in preparation of the draft PEA.

SpaceX is proposing 20 suborbital launches of Starship and five orbital launches/landings per year during the development phase. The Super Heavy (first stage) boosters would separate from the Starship (second stage) at roughly 40 miles altitude and land either at the Boca Chica launch site or downrange in the Gulf, either on a floating platform or in the water itself, according to the draft PEA.