SpaceX spectators a threat to bird habitats
Wildlife experts say sand flats, dunes saw damage
After destroying its launch pad and spewing debris during an inaugural Starship flight in April, SpaceX achieved a relatively clean liftoff of its huge rocket last month in South Texas.
But its second launch of the world’s most powerful rocket is showcasing a new challenge: hundreds of eager spectators tramping across habitats that are crucial to shorebirds in Boca Chica.
Justin LeClaire, an avian conservation biologist with the nonprofit Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, saw the human impact hours after the Nov. 18 liftoff in sand flats and sand dunes south of the launch pad. He also found footprints within algal mudflats to the north and west of the launch pad.
Damage to the algal mudflats was particularly worrisome.
“Those habitats take decades and decades, if not centuries, to really develop,” LeClaire said. He added that it will take time to better understand the full extent of the environmental effects.
Similarly, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it was the public that caused the main environmental effects observed in tidal flats south of the launch pad. It said it was working with SpaceX “to educate the public on the importance of tidal flat habitat.”
Some small pieces of debris from the launch were observed after liftoff, but the Fish and Wildlife Service said those would be easy to remove.
LeClaire noted that SpaceX did fix several of its other issues, though he’s still worried about the environmental cost of launching rockets amid sensitive habitats that are slow to develop and quick to destroy.
Algal mudflats, for instance, are created by changes in the wind. During most of the year, a southeastern wind pushes water into the mudflats. But in the winter, cold fronts bring a northwestern wind that regularly pushes water off and back onto those areas. The brief reprieve from the water allows bacteria and algae to grow.
Footprints are a problem because they create indentations that hold water, blocking the bacteria and algae from growing.
“If you’re talking about one person walking across the flats, you know, not such a big deal,” LeClaire said. “But if we’re talking about hundreds and hundreds, especially as this continues … that’s a lot of people that are going to be walking out there, getting footprints all over that habitat and really destroying it.”
The mudflats in Boca Chica host hundreds of thousands of shorebirds each winter. Many more come in the spring and fall as a stopover in their migration. They rely on the mudflats for nutrients.
“They have little bristles on their tongue so they can literally just lick the mud,” LeClaire said, “whereas other species will probe into it or pick things off of it, get worms that are just poking through the surface.”
SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.
The company’s first launch of the Super Heavy rocket and Starship spacecraft — collectively called Starship — in April destroyed the launch pad, threw chunks of concrete and sheets of stainless steel thousands of feet, and caused sand to travel 6 miles away and fall on residents in Port Isabel.
“It was definitely nice to not see the launch pad destroyed this time,” LeClaire said. “That’s kind of a pretty lowhanging bar. That’s a requirement to make this as ecologically sound as possible.”
This most recent liftoff was more successful, lasting eight minutes and reaching an altitude of 93 miles, but both the rocket and spacecraft exploded during the flight. The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting a mishap investigation into what went wrong. It will work with SpaceX to identify fixes that must be made Starship can fly again.
LeClaire appreciated that this flight created less debris, but he was hesitant to say only spectators caused environmental damage.
“There’s always the question about the sound and pressure and heat that puts off,” he said, “let alone the water deluge system.”
SpaceX developed the water system after the first flight to prevent Starship from destroying the launch pad. The system has steel plates that are pumped with roughly 358,000 gallons of potable water as the rocket engines ignite.
A federal report said most of the water is contained via gutters, a retention basin below the launch pad, one or more retention ponds and berms. Water that escapes the launch area would be less than an average rainfall event.
“It is not expected to change the salinity of the existing mudflats or significantly reduce or modify piping plover or red knot habitat,” the report stated.
LeClaire is still concerned about freshwater affecting plants and invertebrates accustomed to saltwater. And it’s still unclear how hot the water is if and when it reaches the bay.
But for now, LeClaire hopes people will be mindful when they visit the rocket launches and remember that Boca Chica is crucial for shorebirds.
“Think about the land that this is being done within,” he said, “and the natural beauty that’s already there. It’s not a wasteland, even though it will look like that when you drive in and you just see vast mud everywhere.” before