Musk Test Launches Near Beach Cause Irreversible Damage: Environmentalists

Environmentalists argued on Thursday that Elon Musk's SpaceX test launches near beaches in Texas causes multiple damages to the environment and the community which is home to some endangered species.

SpaceX wants to test launch the world's largest spacecraft, the Starship, at its Starbase facility that was built only a quarter mile from Boca Chica Beach in south Texas. Governor Greg Abbott also announced the news Tuesday, tweeting "SpaceX is closer to launching giant rocketship from Texas."

However, environmentalists warned that test launches that happen near public beaches cause damages to the Rio Grande Valley ecosystem from rocket explosions. The area is also home to sea turtles who nest there and endangered ocelots are also believed to live there.

Emma Guevara, a Brownsville organizer at the environmental nonprofit Sierra Club, told Newsweek that there has already been environmental damage caused by SpaceX in an area that she described as "untouched green space."

"Boca Chica Beach is one of the last natural coastlines in Texas and with the creation of the [SpaceX] facility itself, we saw population numbers for certain animals declining," said Guevara, adding that specific types of plants were affected as well as more pollution spread on the beach.

"When their rockets explode, that leaves even more pollution because debris falls on the beach... falls on people's yards, and falls all over the place. For a while, debris had to stay on the beach because they didn't have the proper equipment to pick it up," Guevara added.

Guevara also said that the more the areas surrounding the beach get industrialized "the scarier it is to live there" as it would affect people's health from air pollution.

The number of certain bird species such as the piping plover have been declining because the area were the SpaceX facility is located is a "prime nesting ground" for this bird, and therefore they have been reproducing less than they typically would, according to Guevara.

Ocelots are also facing risks as the area surrounding the facility is one of the last places where they can be found in the wild. Guevara explained that the biggest cause of ocelot deaths is car accidents which became "a lot worse" due to increased traffic stemming from the closures in the area.

The beach can only be accessed through Highway 4, a two-lane road from Brownsville that is often closed for SpaceX launches. Guevara said that "they close it all of the time, like hundreds of hours of closures a year."

"It's just one street to get to the beach and they close that street all the time, because that's where the facility is and that has caused a lot of different accidents," Guevara said, adding that it is not safe for any crossing with "big giant machines driving around."

Additionally, animals in that area are being exposed to "major noise and light pollution," according to the Sierra Club organizer who mentioned that "animals, especially wild ones, don't really like to be around big bright lights and loud noisy machines, especially when sometimes they explode."

Other sources of pollution and environmental impact could be stemming from the type of fuel that SpaceX is using in its launches, according to John Rumpler, clean water program director at Environment America.

Rumpler told Newsweek that if SpaceX is using perchlorate, which is an ingredient used in rocket fuel, in their tests then this "has significant human health impacts even at very low levels." Newsweek was unable to independently verify whether SpaceX is using perchlorate in its fuel.

"One of the things that perchlorate can do is it can prevent people's fibroids from absorbing iodine, and it can cause a bunch of different problems for adults, but also for children affecting their cognition, and at higher levels, their mental health as well," Rumpler said.

There is no safe way to launch a rocket near beach communities, according to Guevara, even though the FAA's environmental review revealed that there would be "no significant impact" on the Gulf Coast region from SpaceX launches from the Boca Chica facility.

The company has applied for a launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). "The completion of the environmental process does not guarantee that the FAA will issue a launch license," a spokesperson with the FAA told Newsweek. "SpaceX's application also must meet FAA safety, risk and financial responsibility requirements. The FAA will make a license determination only after SpaceX provides all outstanding information and the agency can fully analyze it."

SpaceX must take many measures to address the risk of environmental impacts such as ensuring that the Boca Chica Beach and Highway 4 is closed, according to a FAA statement sent to Newsweek. The company must also work with a "qualified biologist" on lighting inspections to reduce potential impact on sea turtles, and coordinate with state or federal agencies "to remove launch debris from sensitive habitats."

Still, Guevara insisted that the sole existence of such facilities is "not safe at all to begin with" because it's not good for the environment or the community.

"I'm no scientist, [but] from what I've understood from the scientific method is you have to keep trying until you get it right; and if you can't launch a rocket without screwing over the entire community around you, and the entire environment around you, and altering the terrain forever, and killing endangered species, then you haven't done it, and you need to go back to the drawing board," Guevara said.

"But unfortunately, we don't live in a world that's motivated by getting it right. We live in a world that's motivated by making money," she added.

Newsweek reached out to SpaceX for comment and additional information.

Update 6/16/22, 4:40 p.m. ET: The story has been updated to include comments from the Federal Aviation Administration.