SpaceXin every sense of the word. The current status of American spaceflightsurely, Boeing Rocketbut We have all seen What is it like? — SpaceX currently How NASA gets the job doneThe company is also a major polluter of Texas waters, according to reports from two different regulatory agencies.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality released a report this year accusing SpaceX of violating pollution laws. CNBC sawThis is about the Starship rocket’s deluge system.
TCEQ said its office in the South Texas city of Harlingen, near Boca Chica Starbase, received a complaint on Aug. 6, 2023, alleging that SpaceX was “discharging floodwaters without TCEQ authorization.”
“The Harlingen area received a total of 14 complaints alleging environmental impacts from the facility’s water discharge system,” regulators said in a written statement.
Aerospace companies, including SpaceX, generally must comply with state and federal laws to receive approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for future launches. SpaceX was seeking permission to conduct up to 25 launches and landings per year of its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket at its Boca Chica facility. The notice of violation could delay those approvals and lead to civil fines, further investigations and criminal charges against SpaceX.
of Flood Systems That’s right. Water is flowing under the Starship. Blocks both heat and sound waves from the engine Before reaching the launch pad. The Deluge system is not a new innovation for SpaceX. It has been in use since at least the 1950s However, SpaceX is releasing water into the local environment, potentially contaminating the surrounding area.
SpaceX said the CNBC report wasFactually inaccurateThe company said the EPA has “found that SpaceX’s missions will have environmental costs” and that it has been given permission to continue operations while it completes the necessary paperwork. Whether or not the company is right, the EPA and TCEQ reports exist, and they do show that SpaceX’s missions will have environmental costs.
