Upcoming Starship Environmental Study Stirs Locals, Environmental Groups

It is likely SpaceX will face the same battles with environmentalists and some locals in Florida that they already face in Texas.

Boca Chica

A few years ago, SpaceX had begun construction of a Starship launch tower near Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A, but that work had apparently been stopped in favor of a Starship facility near Boca Chica, Texas.  Since then, SpaceX has proceeded with extensive construction of what it calls Starbase, with two highly-publicized Starship launches during 2023.  However, environmental groups have loudly complained, and FAA approval for another controversial launch was delayed.  

In a move to apparently remedy the standoff, SpaceX offered a lopsided land swap to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD).  As reported by ABC 13 News, SpaceX offered to turn over 477 acres near the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in exchange for only 43 acres from the Boca Chica State Park (near Starbase).

The Parks and Wildlife staff appeared ready to take the deal:  (we) “view it as a way for the agency to increase public access and protect grasslands and wetlands … these conversations continue more than a decade of cooperative work with SpaceX to carry out our respective missions as neighbors,” the TPWD statement said.  A vote was set for January 25, 2024.

But several days before the vote, the Parks and Wildlife staff sought public comment.  Over 1,039 comments were against the land exchange compared to 263 for it. The TPWD also received a letter from influential Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr against the project.  The Parks and Wildlife then hastily postponed the vote until its March 28 meeting.

As reported by ABC 13 News:

Save RGV, a nonprofit group advocating against the development of liquified natural gas plants and SpaceX in the Rio Grande Valley, worries how the land exchange could impact sensitive wildlife areas in the future.

“The proposed exchange will further environmental impacts, including more light, noise, run-off, pollution, and traffic,” Mary Angela Branch, Save RGV member, said in a public comment to the TPWD commission. “This exchange would set a bad precedent for trading away unique sensitive habitat and public land.”

Save RGV posed several questions to TPWD, namely what SpaceX is planning to do with the 43 acres, why the public wasn’t informed of the exchange sooner, whether environmental studies will be conducted, who owns the land SpaceX is offering in the exchange and how the exchange will impact beach closures at Boca Chica.

Another question posed by Save RGV is whether TPWD possibly blocked a land purchase by Cameron County, where both parcels of land are located. One commissioner has pushed back at the exchange deal, saying the county had plans to use the land for its own conservation project.

In December, Jeff Foust at SpaceNews reported:

While environmental groups condemn the government for not doing enough to protect the environment from Starship launches, others have argued those agencies are doing too much.

The second Starship launch was “after months of delay stemming from bureaucratic red tape from AST, Fish and Wildlife and other agencies injecting themselves into the process,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, at a Dec. 13 hearing by that committee’s space subcommittee. AST is the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation.

Kelvin Coleman, FAA associate administrator for commercial space transportation, told Cruz the environmental review ahead of the second launch was required “to ensure compliance with NEPA” and related environmental laws. “We conducted that consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service in accordance with U.S. law.”

Cruz argued that the environmental reviews resulted in “asinine delays” even as the United States competes with China and Russia in spaceflight. “I’m not advocating for a wholesale repeal of our environmental laws or NEPA. I’m just arguing for them not to be applied in a dumbass way that slows down commercial space.”

As both proposed launch pads are on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, no land exchanges will be needed for Florida. Until a recent deal with the State of Texas, Starbase existed on a 55-acre spit of land, whereas CCSFS is 1,325 acres, and that before the adjacent Kennedy Space Center is considered – that site has 6,000 acres of land for facilities and roads, and has 7.8 million square feet of building area, and 564 miles of roads, including 184 miles of paved and 380 miles of unpaved roads.

It should be noted that the Boca Chica Starbase is located within about 5 miles of populated Port Isabel.  In contrast, the CCSFS Launch Complex 37 is about 15 miles from Titusville and 8 miles from Cape Canaveral. Both are well out of the designated Blast Debris Area that is recognized for launches: the Saturn V in the 1960’s and 1970’s and also the recent Artemis I launch of SLS had BDAs of 3.5 miles from the launch site.

The Florida Debate Begins

With the third test flight of Starship expected for next month in Texas, attention is shifting to SpaceX’s plans for Florida’s launch facility. The Department of the Air Force, which controls the bulk of the Cape Canaveral peninsula via the US Space Force, has made it clear they are in need of Starship’s heavy lift capability.

At a recent Space Mobility Conference, Gary Henry, senior advisor for national security space solutions at SpaceX, said that Starship holds the potential to become a mobility platform for the U.S. military. “The cost element of this is going to be pretty compelling, and it’ll happen soon,” Henry said. The military also intends to use the massive Starship as an inflight refueling and logistics depot, supporting Space Force missions.

Additionally, NASA’s plans for the moon and beyond hinge on Starship as part of the Artemis program, with plans for a crewed moon landing within this decade.

Such ambitious plans would require a fairly rapid cadence in Starship launches. A NASA official said last year that the use of Starship for Artemis lunar landings will require “in the high teens” of launches both from Texas and Cape Canaveral.

Locals and environmental groups are already voicing their concerns on social media, encouraging residents to research the environmental and community issues and then attend one of the upcoming public comment forums in the area.

Local Concerns Expressed on Social Media

In a Facebook group called “Fight For Zero Brevard”, one resident posted  PLEASE go do your research concerning the massive change in attitude by all the people who live near Boca Chica and the huge impact Starship has had to their environment and wildlife….there was such pushback by Boca Chica residents during their time to write in public comments that a much more “rigorous” environmental study was called for pushing SpaceX’s time frame out and there has been a lawsuit filed by numerous groups concerning the environmental impact hence part of the reason for SpaceX’s shift to now focusing on Cape Canaveral.

In another group, a poster said: There is no question that a keener eye needs to be placed on the negative effects of launches and space programs in general. Thanks for alerting us to this. The space center is a cool thing to have in our backyards, but not at the expense of human and environmental health.

Still, others expressed concerns about the increased noise pollution of launches, the safety of residents in the event of a mishap, and the environmental effect of the fallout of heavy metals. 

Not all residents shared those concerns, touting the positive effects of the space program. Another poster wrote: We are, after all, the Space Coast right? The space program and its associated tourism drives Brevard County’s economy. We have all of the necessary capabilities and infrastructure, so it’s a natural.

As of yet, none of the Space Coast’s federal representatives (Congressman Bill Posey, Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott) have weighed in on the potential of Starship flying out of Cape Canaveral or the ongoing Environmental Impact Study.

Public Hearing Dates

Florida Media Now will be covering the upcoming public hearings. Currently, hearings are slated for

March 5: 4-7 PM, Catherine Schweinsberg Rood Central Library, 308 Forrest Ave., Cocoa.

March 6: 4-7 PM, Titusville Civic Center, 4220 S. Hopkins Ave., Titusville.

March 7: 4-7 PM Radisson Resort at the Port, 8701 Astronaut Blvd., Cape Canaveral.

There is also an online meeting for those who cannot attend in person:

March 12: at spaceforcestarshipeis.com

Draft Study Results Expected Late This Year

After making the study announcement and holding public hearings in March, the Environmental Impact Study will appear as a draft release of the report sometime in “winter” 2024. (As there is only one official winter month, that of December, it may be that the draft EIS is due that month.) That is not set in stone, however, so stay tuned for an announcement of specifically when that date may be.

FMN Correspondents Jim Siegel, Charles Boyer, and Mark Stone contributed to this report.