SpaceX blasted off on its fifth Starship test flight from South Texas on Sunday, successfully returning the rocket’s first stage booster and heating up its feud with nearby residents.
The South Texas Environmental Justice Network said in a press release Tuesday that the community was “distraught by the negative impacts of the launch” and is frustrated with the “lack of concern for public safety and health.” When Starship launched on Sunday, it happened after Elon Musk’s company curiously finessed a last-minute launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration. Launches were previously said to be delayed until November.
Now, those opposed to SpaceX are preparing to gather outside a public meeting the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is holding in Brownsville on Thursday to review a permit SpaceX is seeking. The organization says it plans to hold “Fuera SpaceX” signs and hand out information about its concerns specifically over SpaceX’s proposed permit to discharge deluge water they describe as polluted into a delicate ecosystem…