SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploded over the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, scattering debris from the launch pad.
Conservation groups have sued the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), challenging Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s approval of expanded rocket launch operations next to a South Texas National Wildlife Refuge without the need for a larger environmental study.
The lawsuit filed Monday comes on the heels of the April 20 test flight of SpaceX’s next-generation Starship rocket, which ended when the spacecraft exploded over the Gulf of Mexico.
No injuries or significant damage to public property were reported from missile wreckage or flying platform debris.
But large chunks of concrete, stainless steel plates, metal and other objects were flung hundreds of feet from the launch pad, and a plume of pulverized concrete also sent material up to 6 km (4 mi) northwest of the launch site, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said. ) reported last week.
“Today’s lawsuit argues that the agency’s proposed mitigation is not sufficient to prevent the launch program from causing significant environmental damage,” the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement.
Jared Margolis, a senior attorney for the center, one of five plaintiffs in the case, said federal officials must defend nearby communities and wildlife, “not ignoring corporate interests that want to use cherished coastal landscapes as a space dumping ground.” waste”.
The plaintiffs are asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to overturn the FAA’s decision to grant SpaceX a vehicle operating license and force the agency to re-analyze the launch site’s environmental impact.
SpaceX’s spaceship soared 39km (24 miles) high before exploding on April 20 — the latest in a string of at least nine accidents at the Boca Chica, Texas site in recent years.
The missile’s self-destruct system caused the missile to explode from nearly 120 meters (400 ft), spinning out of control after just minutes of the test flight. The crushing force of the launch hurled chunks of reinforced concrete and metal shrapnel thousands of feet from the site, adjacent to the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge near Boca Chica State Park and Beach.
The blast also started a 1.4-hectare (3.5-acre) bushfire and sent a cloud of pulverized concrete drifting 10.5 km (6.5 mi) to the northwest and raining down over tidal flats and the nearby town of Port Isabel, according to the FWS.
SpaceX hailed the launch as a qualified success that will provide valuable data to advance the development of its Starship and Super Heavy rocket, key components in NASA’s new Artemis program for returning astronauts to the moon.
An FAA spokesperson said the agency does not comment on pending litigation as a matter of policy. There was no immediate word on SpaceX’s case.
Musk, the billionaire founder and CEO of the California-based company, responded to criticism from environmentalists in remarks at an event on Saturday, saying the debris scattered by the Starship’s launch amounted to “a man-made sandstorm.” “.
“It’s not toxic at all or anything,” he said.
“It has caused quite a stir, but as far as we know there has been no significant damage to the environment.”