CLIPPED WINGS

Environmental Activists Sue FAA for Failed SpaceX Launch

Hell hath no fury like a birder’s wrath.

Five environmental activist groups sued the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday, claiming that the agency failed to mitigate the dangers posed by SpaceX’s Starship launch (and subsequent explosion) on April 20 to surrounding ecosystems in Boca Chica, Texas. The flight test threw large chunks of concrete thousands of feet away into cars, buildings, and nearby wildlife habitat; created a massive cloud of dust that blanketed the area for miles; and even started a 3.5 acre fire in Boca Chica State Park. The complaint specifically alleges that the FAA violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it allowed SpaceX to continue with the launch. “Federal officials should defend vulnerable wildlife and frontline communities, not give a pass to corporate interests that want to use treasured coastal landscapes as a dumping ground for space waste,” Jared Margolis, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. The next Starship launch is currently TBD pending an FAA investigation following the failed 4/20 mission.

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Tony Ho Tran

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