SpaceX gets federal clearance for South Texas launch site

[TexasTowelie]

SpaceX has received a green light from the Federal Aviation Administration to construct a spaceport in South Texas.

The Environmental Impact Statement (see .pdf of documents), issued by the FAA’s Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation George Nield, concludes with:

The undersigned finds that the Proposed Action is consistent with existing national environmental policies and objectives as set forth in Section 101(a) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

The proposed 56.5-acre launch site at Boca Chica beach would launch up to 12 rockets a year, including two Falcon 9 Heavy rockets, which could begin flying in 2015. These launches would be for commercial (i.e. satellites) as well as possibly NASA purposes.

According to the FAA, the proposed site is completely undeveloped and consists of 25.43 acres of wetlands and 31.07 acres of sporadically vegetated sand dunes. The area surrounding the proposed vertical launch area is primarily used for recreational purposes.

More at http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2014/05/spacex-gets-federal-clearance-for-south-texas-launch-site/#22787101=0

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. That's weird, I thought they were doing a New Mexico spaceport.

I wonder what happened to the NMStarGroup or whatever it was called.

[Rstrstx]

2. I think for launching rockets, the closer you can get to the equator the better

About 15 years ago an area north of Raymondville-Port Mansfield was being considered for a spaceport for the same reason. Boca Chica is as far south as you can get in Texas and has an ocean right to its east like Cape Canaveral. The one drawback about Boca Chica is that much of that area floods in hurricanes, there are a lot of barren mud flats out there, if it's in the area I'm thinking they'll have to raise everything to prevent salt water intrusion during a storm.