Go to Article
Excerpt from www.aei.org
Spectacular video of a comet fragment exploding in the nighttime skies over Spain and Portugal made me think of America’s environmental review process. This bureaucratic procedure usually makes news when it involves some sort of infrastructure project, such as expanding an interstate highway or building an electrical transmission line. But as space enthusiasts know, these reviews are playing a big role in America’s New Space Age.
In a new Ars Technica piece looking at SpaceX’s latest launch plans for its powerful Starship rocket, reporter Stephen Clark points out that the environmental reviews demanded by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) significantly impact SpaceX’s Florida plans. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and US Space Force are conducting these reviews for two Cape Canaveral launch sites in response to SpaceX’s updated plans, which include higher launch rates and infrastructure changes not covered by previous assessments. (Currently, Starship launches happen at SpaceX Stabase in south Texas.) The environmental impact statement process, the most thorough review under NEPA, can take a long time and potentially delay SpaceX’s goal of having Florida launch sites ready by 2025. George Nield, an aerospace industry consultant and former head of the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, states in the piece that “a couple of years would not be a surprise” for these environmental reviews.
About The Author
