SpaceX The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has withdrawn SpaceX’s request to expand its launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas, after the company failed to provide environmental information requested by the agency, according to documents obtained by CNBC. SpaceX was seeking approval to build a new launch pad, a new landing gear, and other launch infrastructure to support existing reusable launch vehicle operations at the South Texas facility. The extension would have been built on about 17 acres including wetlands and mudflats. The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for overseeing the development of wetlands under section 404 of the Clean Water Act. In this role, the House ensures that developers do not harm natural resources and drinking water, nor cause stress to endangered species and their habitat when alternative sites or approaches can be used. In a letter to SpaceX dated March 7, 2022, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said that, following repeated requests for specific environmental impact information, Elon Musk’s aerospace firm had not indicated how it could build its facilities otherwise or whether could locate them elsewhere to minimize damage to wetlands, water and wildlife. Bloomberg had previously reported the withdrawal. The agency noted that on February 10, 2022, SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk gave a press conference in which he explained that if regulatory approvals do not proceed to Texas, allowing the company to extend Starship and Super Heavy missile tests. would soon relocate most of SpaceX’s operations to the Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Centers in Florida.
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If that were the case, Musk said at the time, SpaceX would turn its Boca Chica assets into more research and development hubs. The body told SpaceX it could restart its application if it still wants to continue expanding its vertical launch area. Parliament did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether SpaceX responded to or submitted the requested information last month. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a parallel review process, an environmental engineer who publishes blogs under the name ESG Hound reported that the US Fish and Wildlife Service has expressed similar concerns. FWS commented to the Federal Aviation Administration that SpaceX had not provided sufficient environmental information to obtain approval for the Boca Chika expansion. SpaceX has completed multiple high-altitude flight tests with its Starship prototypes, but its next important step is to reach space. Starship is the spacecraft that the company is developing to start a mission to Mars one day. The company’s Starship progress was delayed on multiple fronts last year and an orbital flight test is now pending regulatory approval. SpaceX still needs permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct the flight tests and a separate, basic environmental assessment is still pending. Here is the letter: