Posted on Jun 26, 2021
SpaceX's New Rocket Factory Is Making Its Texas Neighbors Mad
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https://www.npr.org/2021/06/26/ [login to see] /spacexs-new-rocket-factory-is-making-its-texas-neighbors-mad
What Elon Musk has built on the remote mudflats at the southern tip of Texas is astonishing: gantries, fuel storage tanks, an Airstream trailer village, and a silver rocket straight out of Buck Rogers—all fronted by neon letters that spell out "Starbase."
But can SpaceX coexist with the original feathered inhabitants on the lower Gulf coast? Environmentalists from Brownsville to Washington D.C. are protesting his ambitious vision to build, test and launch next-generation rockets in this fragile ecosystem.
"It's 24/7. The lights are really bright out here at night. It's just constant sound and presence of people," says Stephanie Bilodeau, a conservation bird biologist with the non-profit Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program. "I wouldn't want to be nesting near any of this if I were a bird."
What Elon Musk has built on the remote mudflats at the southern tip of Texas is astonishing: gantries, fuel storage tanks, an Airstream trailer village, and a silver rocket straight out of Buck Rogers—all fronted by neon letters that spell out "Starbase."
But can SpaceX coexist with the original feathered inhabitants on the lower Gulf coast? Environmentalists from Brownsville to Washington D.C. are protesting his ambitious vision to build, test and launch next-generation rockets in this fragile ecosystem.
"It's 24/7. The lights are really bright out here at night. It's just constant sound and presence of people," says Stephanie Bilodeau, a conservation bird biologist with the non-profit Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program. "I wouldn't want to be nesting near any of this if I were a bird."
SpaceX's New Rocket Factory Is Making Its Texas Neighbors Mad
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