While the world watched in awe as SpaceX's Starship 250-ton second-stage booster rocket was caught mid-air as it returned to its launch pad, some people in Boca Chica, South Texas, other negative ideas about SpaceX's operations in their area. In the next short years, SpaceX's Starship is expected to play a central role in NASA's Artemis mission to return men (and women) to the moon ( NASA's Artemis III mission to the moon is planned for no earlier than September 2026).
Environmental concerns
SpaceX has revolutionized the space launch industry by launching payloads into low-earth orbit. SpaceX was also the first American company to return astronauts to space after the Space Shuttle's retirement. SpaceX's accomplishments are undeniable, but some people in South Texas who live close to SpaceX's launch pad in and around Boca Chica feel they are being left behind. Some are worried about the environmental impacts of all the launches.
Photo: SpaceX
NPR reported, "Musk might see Starship as an ark for all God's creatures, but environmentalists tell a different story. As Starship prototypes have begun flying from SpaceX's launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas, they say the company has shown little regard for the wildlife Musk has said he wants to protect."
According to NPR (which reviewed state and federal records), "SpaceX has sometimes ignored environmental regulations as it rushed to fulfill its founder's vision." The publication claims that with each of the launches, SpaceX has discharged "tens of thousands of gallons of what regulators classify as industrial wastewater into the surrounding environment."
SpaceX's Starship
Height:
398 feet
Diameter:
30 feet
Mass:
11 million lbs
Payload Block 2:
At least 100 tons to orbit when reused
Payload Block 3:
At least 100 tons to orbit when reused
In September, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) fined SpaceX over $150,000 for violating the Clean Water Act. There are concerns that SpaceX's launches could impact the state park and federal wildlife refuge around the site, which is home to hundreds of thousands of shorebirds, sea turtles, and other species.
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6 Reuters allegations
Reuters claims SpaceX's operations in the area have been fueled by wheeling-dealing Texas politicians "transforming campaign offers, business deals, and the personal finances of some local officials." It says some locals have called it unfair.
Photo: luckyluke007 | Shutterstock
The special Reuters report noted SpaceX's massive economic effect on the nearby border town of Brownsville. The border area with Mexico had been better known as a poor community characterized by migrant traffic and drug smuggling. Some county commissioners have proposed changing the name of the small community of Boca Chica (adjacent to the launch site) to Starbase.
"Businesses associated with SpaceX have also joined Musk and company lobbyists to finance local officials. Musk and lobbyists representing SpaceX and S&B Infrastructure, an engineering and construction firm that worked with the space venture, have contributed more than $500,000 to the campaigns of two dozen elected officials from the region since 2014, records show." - Reuters
Reuters reported that SpaceX and associated businesses have been contributing (although in modest amounts) to the campaigns of two dozen elected officials in the area.
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1 SpaceX's Starship
The Starship is a successor to SpaceX's immensely successful Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. SpaceX plans to send its Starship to the moon and then onto Mars. It is also central for plans to establish a permanent base on the moon. Meanwhile, according to Sandboxx, the US military is looking at possibilities of using the Starship for military applications (like super-fast deliveries of supplies to anywhere in the world).
Photo: SpaceX
"As the most powerful launch system ever developed, Starship will be able to carry up to 100 people on long-duration, interplanetary flights. Starship will also help enable satellite delivery, the development of a Moon base, and point-to-point transport here on Earth." - SpaceX
SpaceX is seeking permission (starting next year) to conduct up to 25 launches and landings with the Starship/Super Heavy. So far, SpaceX has completed five launches - of which three were successful (although even the failed ones provided a way for SpaceX to fall forward).
Planned Starship missions and uses:
NASA's Artemis program to return to the moon and establish moon base Explore Mars Delivery of payloads into geosynchronous orbit Point-to-point super rapid transportation on earth (possible military application)
Starship is a two-stage, fully reusable, super heavy-lift launch vehicle. When it first flew on April 20, 2023, it became the largest and most powerful vehicle in history to fly. Both the Super Heavy booster and Starship spacecraft are equipped with Raptor engines (the first mass-produced full-flow staged combustion cycle engines).
The Starship's Human Landing System variant is planned to land astronauts on the Moon as part of NASA's Artemis program starting in 2026. Meanwhile, the Starship remains in testing and Elon Musk has said next year, the upper stage (the Starship itself) will also be caught. The long-term environmental effects of the launches around Boca Chica are unknown, but for now, it seems SpaceX's incredible Starship is a go.