Environmental groups sue US agency after Starship launch clearance

The test flight of the Starship Super Heavy rocket, from SpaceX, was carried out on April 20 and ended with the explosion of the spacecraft, about 5 minutes after its launch.

SpaceX launches rocket that explodes before reaching space

The most powerful spacecraft ever built in the world left the launch pad in south Texas just before 10:30 am this Thursday (20), Brasilia time, but did not achieve its most ambitious goals, which were to reach orbit intact and decouple the ship from the rocket. The aircraft experienced failures in more than 30 engines, spun around and exploded about 5 minutes after launch. But it was not a fatal flaw, SpaceX engineers assessed.

As the explosion erupted, chunks of concrete and sheets of metal were thrown thousands of meters away from the platform, into an already sensitive habitat. It also sparked a fire across 14.164 square meters of land near the launch site.

The lawsuit against the FAA was filed in a Washington, D.C. court by 5 groups: The Center for Biological Diversity, American Bird Conservancy, SurfRider Foundation, Save Rio Grande Valley, and a cultural heritage organization, the Carrizo-Comecrudo Nation of Texas .

Environmental groups argue that the agency should have conducted an in-depth environmental impact statement (EIS) before allowing the SpaceX moved forward with its Starship Super Heavy launch plans.

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