Starship faces more opposition

SAN ANTONIO The San Antonio Express-News reports a SpaceX proposal to launch more of its giant rockets from South Texas may be in for a rough ride after last week’s spectacular disintegration of a Starship over the Caribbean. Opposition to the proposal, which calls for 25 Starship launches a year — and landings in the Pacific Ocean around Hawaii — is increasingly coming from outside Texas. Now, Hawaiians who don’t like the idea of SpaceX dropping Starship rockets into the Pacific Ocean around the islands have jumped into the debate. On Jan. 13, three days before Starship’s seventh test flight ended with Starship’s fiery breakup, the Federal Aviation Administration conducted an online public hearing at which dozens of people spoke out against the proposal. Several supporters also chimed in. Among 40 participants were at least 19 islanders who spoke against the plans.

Their comments will join thousands of written statements submitted to the FAA since July. It could approve the proposal, ask for changes or require a full environmental impact statement — a lengthy process that could cause significant delays for SpaceX. The meeting kicked off with nearly 250 written comments. After the meeting and Starship explosion, the FAA received thousands more. By the time the agency closed submissions, the total had ballooned to 7,130, nearly 7,000 of which came in the past week. More than 60 state and local elected officials signed letters of support for the increase, Kathy Lueders, Starbase’s general manager, said on X. Most of those who spoke Jan. 13 called for the FAA to perform a full impact statement. They cited concerns about the cumulative impacts of Starship operations in South Texas, including noise, vibration, sonic booms, possible explosions, water and air pollution and increasing traffic.They also blasted the FAA’s existing environmental reviews of SpaceX’s rapidly evolving program at Starbase.