últimas notícias

It will also, unlike any previous orbital rocket, be entirely reusable. That has the potential for greatly cutting the cost of sending payloads to orbit — less than $10 million to take 100 tons to space, Mr. Musk has said.

The Boca Chica site offers several factors that make it a favorable place to launch rockets to orbit. Except for the bottom of the Florida peninsula, it is as far south as one can get on the continental United States. For many missions, a launchpad closer to the Equator aids the trip to orbit by adding the speed of Earth’s rotation to the rocket’s velocity.

The launch path passes over water, away from populated areas, minimizing risk to people on the ground.

But other creatures live in the surrounding wetlands, including ocelots and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, both of which are endangered. State Highway 4, which runs next to the SpaceX site, also passes through Boca Chica Beach, Texas State Parks and the Lower Rio Grande National Wildlife Refuge. Environmentalists worry a steady cadence of Starship launches with blasts of thunderous noise and rocket exhaust as well as potential explosive mishaps will disrupt the ecosystem.

Among SpaceX’s plans for Boca Chica that will affect the environment: installing a solar power farm; building parking lots; constructing processing facilities that the cargo Starship will carry; and conducting more test flights, which raise the likelihood of additional testing explosions that can send debris and forceful shock waves for miles.

The site has also created an economic debate. Many officials and residents welcome the influx of money and prestige that SpaceX is bringing to the Brownsville area, where about a third of the people live below the poverty line. But others worry that gentrification will push out longtime residents.