Life is full of tradeoffs: Will More SpaceX Launches Damage Natural Areas?

See SpaceX Seeks More Experimental Rocket Launches, Aiming for Mars: Company seeks federal approval to conduct up to 25 Starship flights annually, five times higher than what is currently permitted by Micah Maidenberg of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"SpaceX is pushing to sharply increase rocket launches in Texas as it races to demonstrate its new vehicle can fly as designed.

The company has proposed to launch Starship rockets up to 25 times annually from its complex east of Brownsville, Texas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. SpaceX has permission to conduct up to five orbital flights there under a plan the agency approved in 2022. 

SpaceX’s latest plan will likely draw scrutiny from some residents and environmental groups, who have said launches and related operations damage natural areas. Repeated beach closures for Starship operations have also generated frustration.

Supporters of SpaceX, including many elected officials in southeast Texas, have lauded the company for generating jobs and economic opportunities. The rocket maker has been transforming a corner of the state near the Gulf of Mexico through its development of what it calls Starbase, home to a large Starship factory and other facilities."

"Stepping up Starship’s flight rate in Texas requires a new environmental assessment overseen by the FAA, which regulates commercial-space launches.

In 2022, the FAA required SpaceX to carry out dozens of steps to mitigate the effects of Starship launches. Environmental groups have said that effort wasn’t enough."

"During its first flight from Texas last year, the Starship booster destroyed the launchpad during liftoff, spraying debris over a 385-acre area and starting a fire. 

That damage generated criticism from environmental advocates and was folded into a lawsuit that several organizations filed against the FAA last year, claiming the agency failed to fully study and address the impact of Starship launches."

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