Now SpaceX faces another day in court. On Sept. 21 a judge ruled that a proposed land swap with the federal government that would allow the company to expand its launch pads, factory, and related infrastructure into a protected wildlife area in Texas could go ahead. That might have settled the issue but the environmental groups that sued to stop this, plan to appeal—and they believe they have a strong case.
The fact that the acreage that SpaceX gets will not be a gift, but rather an exchange for land the company currently owns—taking that latter plot off the table for development—does not solve the problem, says Laiken Jordahl, public lands advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. “The whole point of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge is to establish a chain of connected habitats along the river that allows for the migration of ocelots and other wildlife,” he argues. “This will cut out one of the key east-west areas of wildlife connectivity, and in return, we're getting a smaller amount of land in a different area.”
What did the Judge say in its decision that would allow the SpaceX land swap?
The plaintiffs, in their filing, anticipated this finding and sought to rebut it in advance with 2014 case law. “[T]he affected individual,” they wrote, “need not always have direct access to the area at issue. Individuals can possess a cognizable interest ‘in observing the landscape from surrounding areas[.]’”
“We are obviously, extraordinarily disappointed in the judge's decision,” says Jordahl. “This effectively clears the way for the bulldozers to start destroying the refuge land. But the judge did not rule on our overall claims; it was just on the injunction. So yeah, the challenge will press forward.” (The denial of a preliminary injunction falls short of the judge actually ruling on whether the proposed land swap violates federal law—which the plaintiffs claim it does.)
Four minutes into Starship’s inaugural launch on April 20, 2023, it exploded spectacularly, raining debris downward—most of which fell into the Gulf of Mexico. But the mere ignition of the nearly three dozen engines on the concrete launch apron did plenty of harm of its own.
Jordahl is not worried just about similar environmental damage, but the harm to be done when those bulldozers he mentions begin to roll.
The harm won’t stop there. As SpaceX expands into the refuge, more land that is currently a comfortable distance from the complex will be exposed to the damage the launches can do. SpaceX claims it has cured the problems that made the first launch such a mess, installing a water-cooled metal deflection plate and a retaining wall to control debris. The other 12 Starship launches that have taken place since the inaugural one have indeed caused far less damage to the surroundings.
Clearly, not all of those launches could come from the Texas site, but SpaceX has other launch facilities at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and dedicated pads at the Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. A company so large, with more than a $2 trillion valuation, could always build more launchpads at more coastal sites whenever it chooses.
What precedent could the SpaceX land swap set?
“This [Texas] land transfer is part of a broader scheme by this administration to give away public lands to private interests,” says Jordahl. “The precedent that this transfer will set is extremely concerning when it comes to corporations setting their sights on and taking over public lands across America.
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