Space News by Jeff Foust May 1, 2023
Several environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration May 1, arguing that the agency improperly carried out an environmental review of SpaceX Starship launches from Boca Chica, Texas.
The suit, filed in federal district court, seeks to revoke the FAA’s launch license for Starship launches from Boca Chica and declare that an environmental review done as part of that process violated the National Environmental Policy Act. That review, completed In June 2022, allowed SpaceX to conduct launches provided it carried out prescribed mitigations.
The lawsuit argues that the FAA failed to fully assess the impacts on the environment from launches, as well as launch failures, by the Starship/Super Heavy vehicle, citing the April 20 first integrated launch of that vehicle as an example. Thrust from the booster tore apart much of the concrete base of the pad, sending debris flying and creating a plume of sand and dust.
The suit adds that the FAA also did not take into account extended closures of the highway that leads to both the Starbase site and the neighboring public beach, which the groups argue is counter to Texas state laws that guarantees free access to such beaches. It also argues that the agency did not adequately examine alternatives to launching from Boca Chica, such as launching from the Kennedy Space Center.
“Federal officials should defend vulnerable wildlife and frontline communities, not give a pass to corporate interests that want to use treasured coastal landscapes as a dumping ground for space waste,” said Jared Margolis, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, the lead plaintiff in the suit.
More:
https://spacenews.com/environmental-groups-sue-faa-over-starship-launch-license/
