Elon Musk\u2019s obsession with colonizing Mars is polluting Earth. As SpaceX seeks to ramp up its launches of Starship, it\u2019s also expanding its splashdown area where pieces of the rocket are allowed to litter the Pacific Ocean. A recent expansion threatens marine wildlife surrounding a sacred island in native Hawaiian tradition.<\/p>\n
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved SpaceX\u2019s request to rain down debris in the waters surrounding Mokumanamana, an uninhabited island in Northwestern Hawaii known for its religious and cultural sites, The Guardian recently reported<\/a>. SpaceX\u2019s operations in Boca Chica, Texas, have already had an impact on wildlife in the surrounding habitat, and now the company is looking to increase its rate of Starship launches and to expand the area where bits of the rocket can fall.<\/p>\n More launches, more problems <\/p>\n The company was initially granted a license to launch its Starship rocket five times each year, but that number quickly quadrupled when the FAA approved SpaceX\u2019s request to fly the largest rocket ever built 25 times a year<\/a> in 2024. Along with the rapid launches, SpaceX also sought to expand the designated area in the Pacific Ocean where bits of its rocket might fall.<\/p>\n SpaceX\u2019s megarocket has had nine test flights so far, and some of them have ended with massive explosions that dropped metal scraps on inhabited areas<\/a> in Turks and Caicos and several Caribbean islands. No injuries were reported, and SpaceX was allowed to fly Starship again and again after brief investigations into the incidents.<\/p>\n With the FAA\u2019s recent approval of SpaceX\u2019s new splashdown area, the company will be allowed to litter larger regions of the Pacific Ocean that include Mokumanamana and seven other Hawaiian islands that lie within a UNESCO world heritage site, the Papah\u0101naumoku\u0101kea Marine National Monument, according to The Guardian\u2019s report.<\/p>\n Rocket-sized environmental concerns <\/p>\n Papah\u0101naumoku\u0101kea is the largest marine conservation area in the world, home to threatened or endangered plants, birds, seals, and sea turtles, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service<\/a>. As SpaceX launches more Starships to the skies, the debris could threaten marine life in the protected waters the same way the rocket has had a negative effect on the wildlife surrounding its launch site.<\/p>\n Local wildlife groups in Texas have long criticized the FAA for overlooking SpaceX\u2019s impact on the surrounding habitat. SpaceX\u2019s launch site in South Texas is surrounded by a wildlife habitat that\u2019s considered a refuge to several endangered and threatened species like ocelots, piping plovers, and Kemp\u2019s Ridley sea turtles. Starship\u2019s inaugural liftoff, which sent chunks of concrete and metal thousands of feet away from the launchpad, prompted a review of environmental impacts<\/a> and potential threats to endangered species in the Boca Chica region. Conservation groups even sued the FAA<\/a> for its approval of SpaceX\u2019s expanded launch operations in Boca Chica, Texas, without adequate environmental review. The lawsuit claims that the\u00a0FAA didn\u2019t require an in-depth environmental impact statement<\/a> before approving SpaceX\u2019s Starship plans.<\/p>\n