SpaceX launched the largest rocket ever built to the first time on thursday from its spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas. The Starship spacecraft, designed to take people on a mission to Mars one day, lifted off from the launch pad and then exploded mid-flight, with no crew on board.
Now residents and researchers are scrambling to assess the impact of the explosion on local communities, their health, habitat and wildlife, including endangered species. The main concern is the large amount of sand and ash-like particulate matter and heavier debris kicked up by the launch. Particle emissions extended well beyond the expected debris field.
As a result of the explosion, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the company’s Starship Super Heavy launch program pending the results of a «mishap investigation,» part of standard practice, according to an email. agency email sent to CNBC after the launch. As of Friday, no injuries or damage to public property had been reported to the agency.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
not in plan
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, speaking publicly on Twitter Spaces on April 16 before the test flight, acknowledged that a vehicle with 33 engines is akin to «a box of grenades» and that the Starship vehicle was not likely to reach the orbit, but probably explode.
However, Musk and SpaceX did not accurately predict that their launch pad would be destroyed, nor that particles would fall on residents and habitat as far away as Port Isabel, a city about six miles from the launch pad, and South Padre. Island, a few miles offshore from the site.
Images captured during the test flight show that SpaceX’s launch pad also exploded, with chunks of concrete flying in multiple directions leaving a giant crater below. According to Dave Cortez, the director of the Lone Star chapter of the Sierra Club, a 501c4 environmental advocacy group, «the concrete was shot into the ocean and was in danger of hitting the fuel storage tanks, which are these silos adjacent to the launch pad.»
Jared Margolis, lead attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said that in an environmental assessment, which SpaceX completed to obtain a launch license, the company told the FAA and other agencies that in the event of an «anomaly» they expected them to fall debris. within a limited area of 700 acres surrounding the launch site.
That would translate to a one-square-mile debris field, with debris emanating about three-quarters of a mile from the site, he said, referring to SpaceX. environmental site assessment documents which are public record.
In fact, after the test flight and the explosion, people in Port Isabel reported broken windows in their businesses, shaken windows in their homes, and dust and particles covering their homes, schools and grounds unexpectedly, according to Cortez.
Port Isabel is a mainland city near the SpaceX spaceport, and off the coast of South Padre Island, that also received a share of particles, according to correspondence between researchers and residents shared with CNBC.
It is not yet known whether the ash-and-sand-like particulate matter is dangerous to touch or inhale and what effect it might have on soil health, Cortez and Margolis noted.
An industry chronicler who reported locally on the launch, lavie ohanahe wrote that the launch was also «one of the loudest» he had ever witnessed, «with shock waves that felt like they were hitting me over and over again.»
Effects on endangered species
Margolis said the Center for Biological Diversity is concerned about the effects of noise, particulates and heavier debris on endangered species that call the area home, including the Piping Plover, Red Knot, the jaguarundi, ocelot populations, and sea turtles, including the Kemp’s ridley. , which nests on the beaches of Boca Chica and is one of the most endangered sea turtles in the world.
From February to June is the nesting season for the Kemp’s ridley.
The National Wildlife Refuge lands, which are in close proximity to the launch pad, are designated as critical habitat for the Piping Plover, he stressed.
Cortez added that members of the Sierra Club have been especially concerned about the impacts on human health and how the aftermath of the explosion may limit people’s ability to get outdoors, whether it’s fishing for dinner, enjoying the beach or hike in the many parks and protected wildlife. areas near Starbase.
health concerns
The impacts of particulate emissions from the SpaceX launch will not be understood until the samples are evaluated and the debris field is thoroughly measured.
But, in general, particulate emissions are regulated by the federal Clean Air Act and Texas state law.
Eric Roesch, an environmental engineer who has been tracking the impact of SpaceX installations and launches on his blog, ESGHoundHe said particulate emissions are associated with lung and respiratory problems, and are considered a high-priority pollutant by the EPA. The health impacts depend on the time and amount of exposure, as well as the size and content of the particles, she added.
Roesch has been warning the public for months that the FAA and SpaceX had not been careful enough in their environmental analysis to comfortably proceed with a launch of this magnitude. He said: «The FAA or SpaceX did not disclose the possibility of a widely dispersed emissions plume during the initial environmental permitting and approval process.»
Margolis and Cortez noted that roads had been damaged, with gates and curbs closed immediately after the SpaceX Starship test flight. That meant wildlife biologists and other field researchers couldn’t immediately drop by to study the full scale of any damage occurring in a nearby wildlife refuge area, though some were reportedly on the ground Saturday, the 22nd. of April.
One concern is that evidence of harm to endangered species could be removed from the site before regulators have a chance to assess it, Margolis said.
returning to the flight
Elon Musk wrote in a tweet on April 21, 2023, after the test flight: “3 months ago, we started building a huge water-cooled steel plate to fit under the launch pad. It was not ready in time and we mistakenly thought based on static fire data that Fondag would survive 1 launch. It looks like we may be ready to launch again in 1-2 months.”
CNBC asked the FAA what it takes for SpaceX to be cleared to conduct another test flight or launch of the Starship Super Heavy vehicle from Boca Chica, Texas.
The agency said in an email that the return to flight of the Starship Super Heavy will require the FAA to decide that «any systems, processes or procedures related to the mishap do not affect public safety.»
Because they are still gathering information, the FAA and the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Texas regional office could not yet answer questions about the environmental impacts of Thursday’s launch. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.
However, the FAA told CNBC via email that the explosion triggered something called an «anomaly response plan,» which is part of a 2022 plan. Programmatic Environmental Assessment completed by the company in conjunction with state and federal agencies, and that SpaceX has additional «environmental mitigations» they must complete before launching again. The plan «was triggered by debris entering adjacent properties,» the FAA noted.
After completing the list of tasks in the plan and mitigations, SpaceX will need to apply to the FAA to amend its launch license to get clearance for another test flight.
Center for Biological Diversity attorney Jared Margolis believes the FAA requirements will be minimal and easy for the company to meet, but ultimately ineffective in safeguarding the well-being of local residents and endangered species. of extinction.
He explained: “We are not against space exploration or this company. But as we gaze at the stars, we should not easily sacrifice communities, habitats, and species.»