Victor Ortega BROWNSVILLE— The Federal Aviation Administration hosted a meeting on Jan. 7 to gather input from the local Cameron County community on SpaceX’s new proposal for an increase in vehicle cadence in its Boca Chica launch site.
The proposal, which is being investigated by the FAA, states SpaceX’s interest in increasing the number of launches in the area from 10 to 25, including 50 landings in its Starbase in South Texas to continue developing its aerospace technology.
Hudson Deyoe, UTRGV School of Earth, Environmental and Marine Sciences professor, said the proposal may impact the local environment due to the increase in sonic booms.
“Some simple [effects], it’s just the noise from those things, it’s really loud,” Deyoe said. “If you’re anything that can hear, that’s going to be problematic for you, one would think. It might not be such a good story for a bird if you happen to be, you know, a quarter mile away from a launch.”
SpaceX timeline of events:
– 2012: SpaceX’s plan for a facility in Boca Chica began in 2012, when the company acquired property along the Gulf of Mexico.
– 2012: Federal law required the FAA to conduct a review of the environmental impact before the SpaceX launch site was established.
– 2012-2013: The review was underway by 2012. In 2013, Texas introduced legislation that allowed for the closure of public beaches during launches.
– 2013-2014: Texas legislators approved a 15-million-dollar incentive package for the former California-based company in 2013 and was later accepted by SpaceX in 2014.
– 2014: The FAA review found the proposed location to pose no significant threat to the environment, leading SpaceX to publicly announce Boca Chica as its site in August of that year.
– 2015: Work on the land’s soil began in 2015, as SpaceX acquired more property around the site.
– 2018 – Present: By 2018 construction on the facilities was underway. The first launch conducted in the facilities was performed in early 2023, followed by six more launches.
Fastforward two years, SpaceX is in the middle of a license renewal mandated by the FAA.
If approved, the modification would allow SpaceX to increase its vehicle cadence.
The FAA is actively investigating this proposed modification to analyze its potential environmental impact.
The initial investigation found no significant impact on matters such as air quality, land use and children’s health. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife services is still researching the impact on endangered species.
This FAA investigation required public commentary to identify concerns and answer questions, leading it to schedule public meetings throughout January.
Some locals expressed concerns over the proposal, seeing SpaceX’s launch site as a threat to the Boca Chica environment.
Christopher Basaldu, co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, said the lands on the Boca Chica Beach are sacred to the original native Esto’k Gna, Carrizo Comecrudo.
“Those lands, that area of Boca Chica Beach near the mouth of the river, those are all sacred lands, the whole land in that area is sacred to the original native people of these land, the Esto’k Gna, Carrizo Comecrudo,” Basaldu said.
People outside of Cameron County have a different take on the matter, as they show excitement for the technological achievements performed by SpaceX that put them above other tech giants.
“None of the other aerospace companies can even come close to even attempting these advancements, taking the risks that Space X is taking,” Hal Spibey, a San Antonio resident said. “I’m amazed at what they’ve done so far and then what they still attempt to do.”
Both FAA and SpaceX declined to comment and answer questions at the FAA meeting.
The final environmental assessment by the FAA is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, which will be followed by a decision for a license renewal or modification for SpaceX.
