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3w ago

Judge Upholds FAA Review, Clearing SpaceX’s Starship Expansion in South Texas

The decision affirms the FAA’s discretion under NEPA following its 2022 assessment that imposed mitigation requirements.

SpaceX logo is seen in this illustration taken, March 10, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File Photo
A SpaceX Starship and Super Heavy launches Aug. 26 from SpaceX’s Starbase site. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has ruled that the FAA did not violate environmental laws when it cleared the commercial space company to launch the mega-rocket for the first time on April 20, 2023.
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SpaceX’s mega-rocket Starship makes a test flight on Aug. 26 from Starbase. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has ruled that the FAA did not violate environmental laws when it cleared the commercial space company to launch the mega-rocket for the first time on April 20, 2023.

Overview

  • U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols dismissed a lawsuit from conservation groups challenging the FAA’s approval of Starship launches at Boca Chica.
  • The court said the FAA took a hard look at environmental effects, finding its reliance on a 2022 programmatic environmental assessment with about 75 mitigations fell within a broad zone of reasonableness.
  • The ruling keeps in place FAA permissions that allow SpaceX to increase Starship flights from Texas to as many as 25 per year.
  • Plaintiffs, including the Center for Biological Diversity, condemned the ruling and said they are evaluating a potential appeal.
  • Environmental and safety concerns remain in focus, with documented debris and fires from the April 2023 test and a June 18 ground-test explosion that sent material into Mexico, while Florida Starship plans undergo full EIS reviews.