Texas and Hawaii residents are outraged over SpaceX's new Starship ambitions
South Texans have been in an uproar over a proposal from SpaceX to launch its massive Starship rocket 25 times a year from its Boca Chica launch site, and Hawaiians are now joining in to condemn the plans for their own reasons.
During a Monday meeting that the Federal Aviation Administration held to discuss the proposal, residents near the take-off and landing sites of the rocket tests voiced concern over the potential increase in launches. While Starship takes off from a site in Boca Chica, it lands in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii or the Indian Ocean near Australia. Residents across the affected areas are fighting the proposal, claiming that the rocket is harmful to the ocean and to wildlife.
Mainei Kinimaka, a filmmaker and Native Hawaiian, gave condolences to people in Boca Chica, and noted that the affected area in Hawaii "is an extremely important cultural and environmental place."
"Any cultural assessment done properly in this area would easily disprove this being a decent site for dumping debris," Kinimaka said.
Cultural apprehension aside, stakeholders also addressed potential harm to their marine ecosystems, especially since Starship's booster lands in the Gulf of Mexico. Texans said that recreational fishing is under strain as beach closures keep residents out for SpaceX activities, causing an observed decline in fish populations. Hawaiians shared similar fears that more Starship landings in the ocean could affect local fish.
"I am Hawaiian, so we view our ocean as a part of us," Michele Ilae said. Ilae also mentioned concerns about the fact that the incoming administration has already shown favor toward SpaceX. "It shouldn't be okay just because Trump is president, and Elon Musk is a billionaire," IIae said.
While much of the public commentary came from U.S. residents, at least one testimony during Monday's meeting was offered by an Australian.
Bijang Moogerah, who identified as a First Nations person working in conservation and humanitarian aid projects in Australia, stressed that the proposal needed more input from locals.
"I've seen the first hand impacts of the islands and the damages that can be done, not just to the native people, but the native wildlife and environment that the people are still relying on and have a connection to today," Moogerah said. "The people used the environment to navigate, using the stars, marine wildlife, migratory bird species and the weather observations, which SpaceX is putting in jeopardy."
Despite the controversy, the company is carrying on with business as usual; on Wednesday, SpaceX is expected to launch a new generation Starship from South Texas where it will later splash down off the coast of Australia.
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