PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP
A huge plume of smoke following the launch of the SpaceX Starship rocket on April 20, 2023 in Texas.
JUSTICE – The associations announced Monday, May 1, that they would sue the American aviation regulator, which they accused of misjudging the environmental impact of SpaceX’s new rocket, Starship, a copy of which exploded in flight there are two weeks in Texas.
The United States Aviation Agency (FAA) in mid-April granted SpaceX a five-year license to fly the world’s largest rocket, which was developed and tested by the company in Boca Chica in the far south of the state.
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On April 20, Elon Musk’s company launched Starship for the first time, but the rocket encountered anomalies, forcing SpaceX to activate the self-destruct command that triggered its explosion over the sea after about four minutes of flight. as you can see in our video above.
The launch pad itself was partially destroyed by the power of the plane’s engines, sending debris and pieces of concrete flying.
Consequences for protected species
Several organizations, including the Center for Biological Diversity and the American Bird Conservancy, have filed suits in federal court in the capital, Washington.
“The launch pad is located next to habitats of protected species and migratory birds, such as the Kemp’s turtle or the plover,” the Center for Biodiversity said in a statement, noting that the test “sprayed the surrounding area with fine” particles.
The organization also cited the noise and light pollution associated with the space base, as well as the fire outbreaks it caused.
In granting the license, the FAA imposed a number of restrictions on SpaceX, including a pre-launch and post-launch assessment of fauna and flora by a biologist. Any dirt should be removed.
The explosion caused a fire on 1.5 hectares
But these measures “are not enough to prevent the flight program from causing significant environmental damage,” argued the Center for Biological Diversity. Contacted by AFP, the FAA said it had not commented on ongoing litigation.
The April 20 test flight caused a fire of about 1.5 hectares in Boca Chica Regional Park, south of the launch pad, according to the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service.
“The aftermath of the launch includes numerous pieces of concrete, steel plates, metal and other objects hurled hundreds of meters, as well as a plume of powdered concrete deposited more than 10 km northwest of the launch pad,” the federal government services said.
However, no dead animal has been found on land managed by those services, they added in a statement sent to AFP.
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