The recent Artemis II launch brought back memories of the historic Apollo missions which changed our way of thinking about our own planet. Apollo 8 sent back the iconic image of the blue marble of Earth rising above a lifeless moon against the black void of space. Earthrise has been called one of the most influential photos of all time. It showed us we’re all in this together.
A year later, 20 million people gathered for the first Earth Day to call attention to the need to protect our environment, and a bipartisan Congress passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requiring all federal projects to analyze its impacts on the environment. Over the next three years Congress passed the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act, the foundations of federal environmental law.
Over the years, NASA sent astronauts to the moon, launched the Space Shuttle, built the International Space Station, and sent satellites beyond the solar system while fully complying with federal environmental laws. In addition, Kennedy Space Center reached agreement to establish the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, and Congress authorized Canaveral National Seashore on NASA lands not needed for space operations. There is a rich six-decade history of NASA and its partners coexisting to protect the rich natural resources of the area.
But now, the rise of commercial spaceflight seeks to change all of this. The Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) licenses commercial space flight, rather than NASA. Earlier this month the FAA published a proposed rule to allow it to waive NEPA and 13 federal environmental laws when considering licenses to launch commercial rockets. NASA and the Space Force still must comply with federal environmental laws, but the FAA wants to exempt their commercial rockets.
Why does this matter? More rockets mean more closures of Canaveral National Seashore and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, already projected for over 50 closures a year. Each currently receives over 2 million visitors every year from all over the world.
Beaches along the shore are designated critical habitat for endangered sea turtles, while the adjoining lagoon is critical habitat for the threatened manatee. The Merritt Island refuge protects more endangered and threatened species than any other in the country and visitors come to see thousands of birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Kennedy Space Center is surrounded by the waters of the Indian River Lagoon, among the most biodiverse estuaries in North America. But the lagoon has also suffered harmful algal blooms, and fish kills due to increased nutrients. Some of the impacts arise from years of hazardous waste discharges before there were regulations to limits their impact. Earlier this year regulators allowed commercial space provider Blue Origin to dump up to a half million gallons per day of effluent into the lagoon. Imagine what they could do if the provision of the Clean Water Act or hazardous waste laws were simply waived on their behalf?
The public has until August 31 to comment on FAA’s proposal to waive federal environmental laws for commercial space flight. Click on the website below, read the rule and post a comment. Thousands of other concerned citizens and environmental groups have already commented.
For more than 64 years, we’ve balanced the protection of nature with the technology to launch rockets into space. There is no evidence that federal environmental protection laws have slowed our race into space. Urge the FAA to withdraw its proposed rule to waive environmental laws for the commercial development of space.
Clay Henderson is an environmental attorney and president emeritus of the Florida Audubon Society.
To comment on the proposal, visit www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/30/2026-15415/waiver-of-specified-statutory-requirements-for-commercial-space-launch-and-reentry-actions and click on “Public comments.”