SpaceX is almost ready to use its Starbase site in South Texas.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has found after its environmental review that SpaceX would need to make a handful of adjustments to continue conducting tests and launches at its Starbase launch facility in South Texas, per The Verge.
The FAA's environmental review was previously delayed to June 13 after it was moved a second time in early June.
FAA Review Findings
The FAA mentioned in its report that SpaceX's plans for its Starbase launch site in South Texas would have some environmental impact on the area surrounding it, but not enough to require a full environmental impact statement.
As such, SpaceX can continue developing, testing, and in the future, launching its Starship vehicle in its Starbase launch facility if it can mitigate its environmental impact around the site's area.
SpaceX's Starbase launch facility is located at Boca Chica, Cameron County, Texas, right on the southern tip of Texas along the Rio Grande river and the US-Mexico border.
For the FAA to green-light SpaceX's operations in its Starbase launch facility, it would have to make more than 75 changes to its proposal for the facility. These revisions are necessary for SpaceX to help it avoid additional reviews and eventually receive an FAA license to launch its new Starship rocket from there.
These revisions include Space's coordination with a "qualified biologist" on lighting inspections to minimize the impact on sea turtles, implementing plans to mitigate the potential for accidental releases and polluting substances, and performing quarterly cleanups of the local Boca Chica Beach, per CNBC.
Read also: Elon Musk: Tesla Fremont is Now the Largest Plant in North America — Outperforming Toyota, GM?
SpaceX is also expected to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local rules and regulations regarding the proper storage, handling, and use of hazardous materials.
As for air quality, the FAA instructs SpaceX to implement measures to minimize the launch facility's impacts on air quality. These measures include the periodic water spraying to control particulates and fugitive dust, the use of Best Management Practices, and compliance with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's authorization under the Oil and Gas Standard permit.
The company is also expected to contribute to local education and preservation efforts, such as contributing a historical context report of the events of the Mexican War and the Civil War that took place in the launch site's area and replacing missing ornaments on a local historical marker.
SpaceX will also make annual contributions of $5000 each to organizations protecting ocelots and endangered birds of prey and to a state recreational fishing program.
SpaceX's Reaction To The Review's Results
SpaceX did not give an official comment about the review's results and the adjustments the FAA recommends it to do. However, the company did post on its official Twitter page that the review is "one step closer to the first orbital flight test of Starship."
Starship is a 400 ft. tall, reusable rocket that is expected to carry cargo and groups of people beyond Earth. This is the same rocket SpaceX will use for the Artemis missions, specifically, Artemis' first crewed mission, Artemis 3, per Space.com.
