after requiring more than 75 conditions the federal aviation administration or faa
approved a final environmental assessment of the proposed spacex starship spacecraft
and super heavy rocket program in boca chica texas on monday want to know more hey everyone
welcome back to elon musk evolution where we bring you the most recent news about elon musk
and has multi-billion dollar companies but before we begin make sure you subscribe to our channel
and click the bell icon so you don't miss any of our amazing videos and let's begin the faa
published a fighting of no significant impact but is imposing some restrictions on launches
and requiring steps to reduce environmental impacts clearing a roadblock for the program one
step closer to the first orbital flight test of starship spacex tweeted shortly after the decision
according to the faa completing the environmental review does not guarantee the issuance of a
vehicle operator license which is contingent on meeting faa requirements for safety risk
and financial responsibility the faa stated that as a result of the requirements launches
will be given more advanced notice in order to avoid highway closures during launch operations
launches will be prohibited on 18 specific holidays and will be limited to no more than
five weekends per year the faa is requiring ongoing vegetation and wildlife monitoring
as well as advanced notification to surrounding communities about potential engine noise and
sonic booms from launches and adjusting launch complex lighting to minimize wildlife impact
elon musk the founder of spacex stated in february that he was highly confident that his new spacex
starship designed for moon and mars missions would reach earth orbit for the first time this year
even in the worst case scenario musk said spacex has a backup plan in case a full
environmental impact statement is required or legal wrangling over the issue drags on
musk stated that the company would relocate its entire starship program to the kennedy space
center in cape canaveral florida where spacex has received the necessary environmental approval
according to a news source nasa wants spacex to ensure that its plan to launch its next
generation starship rocket from florida will not jeopardize nearby launch infrastructure critical
to the international space station the rocket's next major test a complex task of launching to
orbit for the first time had been delayed in part by a regulatory review of the texas compound's
environmental impact which has prevented the faa from granting spacex an orbital launch license
among the requirements are that spacex work with a qualified biologist on lighting inspections to
minimize the impact on sea turtles run an employee shuttle between brownsville and the facility
and perform quarterly cleanups of the local boca chica beach the company will also help with local
education and preservation efforts such as writing a historical context report on the events of
the mexican war and civil war that occurred in the area as well as replicating and installing
missing ornaments on a local historical marker in addition the company will make an annual five
thousand dollar contributions to organizations that protect ocelots and endangered birds of prey
as well as a state recreational fishing program according to the faa spacex has already made
changes to its star based facility expansion including the removal of infrastructure plans for
a desalination plant natural gas pre-treatment system liquefier and power plant the company
is working on a nearly 400 foot tall reusable starship rocket with the goal of transporting
cargo and groups of people beyond earth's atmosphere starship is made up of a massive
first stage booster called super heavy and a 165 foot tall upper stage spacecraft called starship
elon musk the founder and ceo of spacex has stated that both of these elements will be fully and
rapidly reusable spacex's raptor engine family powers the rocket in its super heavy booster
starship is envisioned by spacex as a potentially revolutionary transportation system that will make
mars colonization and other exploration feats economically feasible nasa sees potential in
the vehicle and has selected it as the first crude lunar lander for the artemis moon program the faa
began reviewing the program in november 2020 after the company began constructing infrastructure and
operations on the gulf of mexico's coast near brownsville texas the agency postponed its final
assessment five times in the last six months as it reviewed program feedback its decision on monday
to issue a mitigated finding of no significant impact is still a partial victory for spacex as
it saves the company from a more extensive review of its operations known as an environmental impact
statement on monday the faa issued two key documents a summary of the environmental
assessment and a detailed list of the actions the company must take as part of the faa's
investigation a report issued earlier this year by the u.s fish and wildlife service revealed a link
between spacex activity in the area and recent declines in the local population of the piping
plover and endangered bird species however the fws suggested that spacex make only minimal spending
or conservation commitments spacex has completed several high-altitude flight tests with starship
prototypes but the company has yet to reach space due to development and regulatory delays
elon musk ceo of the spacex gave a presentation on starship in february at the company starbase
facility in texas outlining the path forward and obstacles for the rockets testing the faa
released 17 000 comments last month some of which expressed concern about the spacex project's
impact on endangered species and the nearby lower rio grande valley national wildlife refuge
the company has applied for permits to develop an additional 17.6 acres of wetlands adjacent to its
existing starbase facility the total affected area is likely to be much larger according to david
newstead director of the coastal bend base and estuaries programs coastal bird program in south
texas bokeh cheek has one of the most important shorebird sites along the entire gulf coast
it is also an important stop on the central flyway which connects migratory birds between
north and south america repeated explosions at the testing site have spread debris into the
surrounding wildlife refuge and state park habitat newstead says and the spacex properties are right
next to occupied heavily used shorebird habitat the cbbep's monitoring efforts show that piping
pluffers a federally threatened shorebird species have declined from an estimated population of
327 in 2018 to 214 in 2020 in boca chica however the population increased slightly to 276 in 2021
according to newstead these changes correspond to the start and stop of launch testing at the site
in 2018 spacex began manufacturing and testing its starship rocket systems in the united states
there was a small increase in the birds this past winter in usted ads notably there will be no more
launch testing from august 2021 to april 2022 the cbb ep also monitors nesting snowy plovers
and wilson's plovers at boca chica in addition to piping clover populations according to newstead
these birds have mostly vanished from the area and appear to avoid nesting in areas near the launch
site the u.s fish and wildlife services also determined that continuing spacex operations
in boca chica will have an impact on animals protected under the endangered species act red not
shorebirds jaguar roondy and ocelot wildcats are among the most endangered the kemp's ridley sea
turtle which nests on the beaches of boca chica and as the world's most critically endangered
sea turtle is also in danger explosions and tests at the spacex launch site could endanger wildlife
populations by causing direct injury or death the usfws and other organizations have also
stated that the heat pressure and debris from launch testing could harm or drive species away
from critical habitat however the faa will ultimately make the decision on spacex's
environmental impact although regulatory agencies frequently postpone decisions according to
newstead the number of faa postponements surrounding the spacex project stands out
i would assume that the length of the delays reflects the number of roadblocks the agency
is encountering and authorizing this type of activity he says if it had been benign
spacex would have had their permit long ago and that's it for today's video we sincerely hope
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