The destruction of a new SpaceX Starship rocket over the Gulf of Mexico may have been news last week, but regulators and environmentalists are more concerned about the explosion that occurred during launch.
The crushing force of a launch in south Texas unleashed a cloud of powdered concrete on the city of Port Isabel, six miles away, according to a preliminary report from the federal agency, the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
The main impact was the wreckage of the launch pad, damaged by the thrust of the super-heavy booster.
“Launch collisions include numerous large chunks of concrete, stainless steel plates, metal and other objects thrown thousands of feet,” the report says.
It also mentions “a plume of powdered concrete deposited 4 miles northwest of the site”.
Residents of Port Isabel reported finding a thin layer of sandy material after much of the launch pad floor came off during launch. The agency added that no one was hurt and no dead birds or wildlife were found at the facilities owned or operated by the shelter.
Scientists and activists said the incident raises important questions about the state of environmental protection as the world prepares for new and larger rocket launches in the coming years.
They pointed out that there is currently no environmental protection in “orbital space” and those involved with launches and re-entry are much more focused on safety than the environment.
They said they hope the explosion could prove to be a valuable experience that could pave the way for more environmental research in space exploration, and with it stricter regulations.
“The scale of damage reported in the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s assessment of SpaceX’s launch is deeply concerning. This highlights the need to put environmental issues at the center of the launch process and tighten environmental testing requirements,” said Andy Lawrence, professor of astronomy at the University of Edinburgh.
“This is especially important as more launches, large and small, are planned for the coming years.
“While I believe in the commercial space industry, there is a certain gold rush going on in it, and therefore strict environmental regulations are very important.”
The launch took place near a national wildlife sanctuary near Boca Chica Beach, and environmentalists said the wreckage demonstrated the need to look deeper into potential hazards before future launches.
Jah Moriba, assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, added, “The environmental protection associated with launching requires more attention. Events like this are a learning moment, and that’s when we should say, “Well, we shouldn’t do this again – what else can we do to minimize our environmental impact?”
“We are not going to stop starting something, and we need to expand the presence of humanity throughout the universe. But doing it at the expense of the environment is a big no-no, and I think it can be greatly minimized if things like this are carefully planned,” he said.
“Flying into space is difficult, there will be explosions and people will die. We cannot prevent this completely and should expect more, but we should learn from what happened and do some things to minimize the damage to the environment,” the doctor said. Moriba.
Meanwhile, Craig Bennett, CEO of The Wildlife Trusts, has urged governments in space exploration nations such as the UK and the US to heed the government launch.
“Space exploration was very important to understand how important our planet is and what happened to it. Satellites have given us much more information about issues like climate change than would have been possible if we hadn’t gone into space.”
“However, the terrible impact rockets have on the environment, especially very large rockets like the recent SpaceX rocket, is undeniable. There is absolutely no reason why this industry should be exempt from the environmental regulations and obligations imposed on other industries. And if we see a significant expansion of space research, governments need to fix it quickly.”
Jonathan Powell, an astronomer and astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said the explosion could affect the location of new launch pads.
“I think the overall picture is that Port Isobel is pretty close [six miles] to the Starship platform, for example, is twice as close as any other community to the Kennedy Space Center sites. And it highlights that as we get a lot of new space launch pads, it’s getting harder and harder to make sure they’re sufficiently isolated and still in a good location for all other space launch pad requirements, how far ocean or desert to their east.
After the aborted mission, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said last week that the company plans to install a water cooling system and a steel foundation for the next rocket launch.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating “accidents” as required by law until SpaceX determines the cause of the rocket explosion after launch.
Source: I News
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