A rocket launch site proposed for a South Texas Gulf Coast beach is drawing grumbles from environmental activists as federal officials prepare an environmental impact statement on the proposal.
The FAA can grant or refuse SpaceX its license for a Cameron County launch site space center on Boca Chica Beach, between Padre Island and the mouth of the Rio Grande.
The Brownsville Herald reports South Texas conservation groups have expressed concern for such a project to be developed on a site surrounded by a wildlife refuge and adjacent to a beach where endangered sea turtles nest.
SpaceX, formally named Space Exploration Technologies Corp., has not chosen a site yet for its planned spaceport. However, spokeswoman Kirstin Brost Grantham assures that it is keenly sensitive to environmental demands.
