Environmental Groups Make Serious Move After Damaging SpaceX Explosion

SpaceX's semi-successful launch had a powerful impact on the environment.

Just a few minutes after SpaceX’s Starship rocket took off on April 20, it exploded, destroying the launchpad and sending pieces of metal, concrete, and particulate matter into the surrounding environment, according to a new lawsuit. The explosion also started a 3.5-acre fire on state park land in Texas.

Whether SpaceX’s Starship launch was a technical success or not, the impact of its “rapid unscheduled disassembly” on the land was potent. Elon Musk is, of course, the founder and CEO of SpaceX.

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The lawsuit, brought against the Federal Aviation Administration on behalf of five plaintiffs - - the Center for Biological Diversity, American Bird Conservancy, Surfrider Foundation, Save Rio Grande Valley and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas - - alleges that the FAA failed to properly address the environmental impact before allowing SpaceX to launch.

“SpaceX activities have and will adversely affect the surrounding wildlife habitat and communities. In addition to harm from construction activities and increased vehicle traffic, rocket launches result in intense heat, noise, and light pollution,” the complaint, obtained by CNBC, reads. “Furthermore, the rocket launches and testing result in explosions which spread debris across surrounding habitat and cause brush/forest fires.”

The U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service, according to the complaint, found that previous SpaceX explosions have harmed protected wildlife and designated habitats.

The suit also notes that SpaceX activities have resulted in frequent closures of the nearby Boca Chica Beach, something that has a “significant adverse impact on the local community.”

The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the FAA’s approval for SpaceX’s launch violated the National Environmental Policy Act. They are also asking the court to remand the FAA’s approval for SpaceX’s vehicle operator license until the FAA performs a full Environmental Impact Statement.

“The environmental impacts of the Starship Launch Program cannot be reduced through mitigation such that FAA can ensure that there will not be significant harm from the launch program, and FAA failed entirely to even address how the proposed mitigation could achieve that level of protection,” the complaint reads.

The FAA declined to comment, saying that it does not comment on ongoing litigation.

“The FAA’s failure to fully consider the impacts of the Starship Launch Program,” the suit reads, “was arbitrary and capricious, in violation of NEPA and the Administrative Procedure Act.”