Latest news with #Starship
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mexico threatens to sue Musk's SpaceX over contamination from exploding rockets
A small Texas town just across the border from Mexico is the testing ground for Starship, the hulking spacecraft that Elon Musk hopes will one day ferry people to Mars. In recent months, multiple test launches have ended in explosions, causing debris to rain down on both countries and in the Gulf of Mexico. Mexican scientists say the wreckage is killing wildlife, including dolphins, sea turtles and fish. Amid growing pressure from her constituents, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said this week that her government is investigating the "security and environmental" effects of Musk's rockets and has found that "there is indeed contamination," a charge Musk's company denies. Sheinbaum said her government is trying to determine whether SpaceX has violated international laws and said Mexico will file 'necessary lawsuits." Read more: 'The United States is the villain of our story.' Nationalism surges in Mexico amid Trump threats Her statements come amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Mexico on security, migration and the economy. President Trump's tariffs on Mexican imports and threats of U.S. drone strikes on cartel targets have sparked a surge of nationalism here. Musk, a billionaire who is also the CEO of Tesla and the owner of X, is closely allied with the U.S. administration, having donated more than a quarter-billion dollars to help elect Trump. For several months this year he was the informal head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency. SpaceX said in a post on X that independent tests performed on the material used in Starships confirm that it "does not present any chemical, biological or toxicological risks." The company said it attempts to recover all debris from exploded devices. U.S. groups have also blamed SpaceX rockets for environmental degradation. The company's Starbase launch facility in South Texas abuts the Boca Chica Wildlife Refuge, an expanse of tidal flats, mangroves and sand dunes that is home to rare and endangered species including ocelots, sea turtles and northern aplomado falcons. A coalition including the Sierra Club and a local Native American tribe sued the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, alleging the agencies approved test launches without conducting thorough environmental reviews. They say failed rocket launches have spread concrete and metal debris across thousands of feet of surrounding lands — and once set off a fire that burned several acres of protected dunes. In Mexico, environmentalists began raising alarms earlier this year after space debris was discovered in the border city of Matamoros, in the Río Bravo — as Mexico calls the Rio Grande — and in the Gulf of Mexico. A local nonprofit in the state of Tamaulipas issued a report documenting animal deaths in a region known as a nesting ground for manatees, sharks, whales and other animals. It warned particularly about risks to sea turtles who ingest particles of space debris. The group said it had collected more than a ton of debris scattered along an area more than 25 miles long. The governor of Tamaulipas said authorities were also looking into the issue. Gov. Américo Villarreal Anaya said his government will verify whether 'the internationally required distances are being respected in order to have these types of facilities so that there is no risk to urban centers.' Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mexico threatens lawsuit against SpaceX over Starship explosion 'contamination'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum has threatened to file a lawsuit against SpaceX over what the leader described as "contamination" following an explosion at SpaceX's Starbase facility earlier this month. On June 18, SpaceX was testing the upper stage of its Starship vehicle on a test stand at its Starbase site near Boca Chica Beach in Texas when Starship exploded in a dramatic fireball. SpaceX wrote on social media that there were no hazards to the surrounding communities following the explosion. But Sheinbaum contests that claim. In a press conference held on Wednesday (June 25), the Mexican president said there is a "general review underway of the international laws that are being violated" due to the fact that "there is contamination" stemming from Starship's explosion, according to Yucatan Magazine. The Guardian reports that Sheinbaum added that her government is looking to file "the necessary lawsuits" over the alleged contamination. SpaceX's Starbase testing and manufacturing facility is located near Boca Chica Beach. The area is at the very southeastern tip of Texas along the Rio Grande river, which divides the United States and Mexico. The Mexican city of Heroica Matamoros sits just across the border from Boca Chica and nearby Brownsville, Texas. This isn't the first time SpaceX has been threatened with environmental lawsuits, not to mention other legal cases. A coalition of environmental groups sued the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2023, claiming the agency did not conduct proper analyses of the damage Starship could cause to the surrounding areas, which are home to protected species of birds. In 2024, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) reported that SpaceX had violated the Clean Water Act after releasing pollutants into nearby body of waters, according to CNBC. SpaceX refuted the claims, calling the reporting "factually inaccurate." Starship launches — and explosions — have left significant amounts of debris throughout Boca Chica Beach and surrounding areas in the past. When Starship launched on its debut flight on April 20, 2023, the rocket's 33 first-stage Raptor engines sent chunks of cement and other debris flying for miles. Local residents described the launch as "terrifying" and compared it to an earthquake. Pieces of debris rained down in every direction, even crushing a nearby car. That flight ended in an equally dramatic fashion when SpaceX triggered its onboard flight termination system, causing the vehicle to explode some three minutes after liftoff. Fragments of the Starship vehicle were found along shores surrounding the area in the days following the flight. Starship's upper stage has exploded and/or crashed into the sea on eight of its nine of its test flights to date (on two launches, the company managed to return the vehicle's Super Heavy booster to Starbase, where it was caught by the 'chopstick' arms on its launch tower). On its fifth flight in November 2023, Starship managed to make a pinpoint splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
Irish Examiner
13 hours ago
- Science
- Irish Examiner
SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas explodes, but no injuries reported
A SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas exploded on Wednesday night, sending a dramatic fireball high into the sky. The company said the Starship 'experienced a major anomaly' at about 11pm while on the test stand preparing for the 10th flight test at Starbase, SpaceX's launch site at the southern tip of the US state. 'A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for,' SpaceX said in a statement on X. It marked the latest in a series of incidents involving Starship rockets. On January 16, one of the massive rockets broke apart in what the company called a 'rapid unscheduled disassembly', sending trails of flaming debris near the Caribbean. Two months later, Space X lost contact with another Starship during a March 6 test flight as the spacecraft broke apart, with wreckage seen streaming over Florida. Following the back-to-back explosions, one of the 123-metre (403ft) Starship rockets, launched from Starbase, tumbled out of control and broke apart on March 27. SpaceX had hoped to release a series of mock satellites following lift-off, but this was halted when the door failed to open all the way. The spacecraft then began spinning and made an uncontrolled landing in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk (Susan Walsh/AP) At the time, SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk called the launch 'a big improvement' from the two previous demonstrations and promised a much faster launch pace moving forward, with a Starship soaring every three to four weeks for the next three flights. SpaceX said Wednesday night's explosion posed no hazards to nearby communities. It asked people not to try to approach the site. The company said it was working with local officials to respond to the explosion.
Los Angeles Times
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Mexico threatens to sue Musk's SpaceX over contamination from exploding rockets
Mexico City — A small Texas town just across the border from Mexico is the testing ground for Starship, the hulking spacecraft that Elon Musk hopes will one day ferry people to Mars. In recent months, multiple test launches have ended in explosions, causing debris to rain down on both countries and in the Gulf of Mexico. Mexican scientists say the wreckage is killing wildlife, including dolphins, sea turtles and fish. Amid growing pressure from her constituents, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said this week that her government is investigating the 'security and environmental' impacts of Musk's rockets and has found that 'there is indeed contamination,' a charge Musk's company denies. Sheinbaum said her government is trying to determine whether SpaceX has violated international laws and said Mexico will file 'necessary lawsuits.' Her statements come amid hightened tensions between the U.S. and Mexico on security, migration and the economy. President Trump's new tariffs on Mexican imports and threats of U.S. drone strikes on cartel targets have sparked a surge of nationalism here. Musk, a billionaire who is also the CEO of Tesla and the owner of X, is closely allied with the U.S. administration, having donated more than a quarter billion dollars to help elect Trump. For several months this year he was the informal head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency. SpaceX said in a post on X that independent tests performed on the material used in Starships confirm that it 'does not present any chemical, biological or toxicological risks.' The company said it attempts to recover all debris from exploded devices. U.S. groups have also blamed SpaceX rockets for environmental degradation. The company's Starbase launch facility in South Texas abuts the Boca Chica Wildlife Refuge, an expanse of tidal flats, mangroves and sand dunes that is home to rare and endangered species including ocelots, sea turtles and northern aplomado falcons. A coalition including the Sierra Club and a local Native American tribe sued the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, alleging the agencies approved test launches without conducting thorough environmental reviews. They say failed rocket launches have spread concrete and metal debris across thousands of feets of surrounding lands — and once set off a fire that burned several acres of protected dunes. In Mexico, environmentalists began raising alarm earlier this year after space debris was discovered in the border city of Matamoros, in the Río Bravo — as Mexico calls the Rio Grande — and in the Gulf of Mexico. A local NGO in the state of Tamaulipas issued a report documenting animal deaths in a region known as a nesting ground for manatees, sharks, whales and other animals. It warned particularly about risks to sea turtles who ingest particles of space debris. The group said it had collected more than a ton of debris scattered along an area more than 25 miles long. The governor of Tamaulipas said authorities were also looking into the issue. Gov. Américo Villarreal Anaya said his government will verify whether 'the internationally required distances are being respected in order to have these types of facilities so that there is no risk to urban centers.'
TechCrunch
17 hours ago
- Science
- TechCrunch
SpaceX's Starbase city officials silent on crane collapse
A crane collapsed at SpaceX's South Texas rocket facility this week, and the company's newly-formed city won't say if anyone was hurt. On June 23, a crane being used to clean up debris from the most recent SpaceX rocket explosion collapsed at the company's launch complex. Footage of the accident was captured by Lab Padre, one of the content creators who film and photograph the site on a regular basis. But it was filmed from far away, making it impossible to tell whether anyone was harmed or in danger. SpaceX has not publicly acknowledged the collapse, and did not respond to TechCrunch's request for comment. That's not surprising; While the company posts details about spaceflight mishaps, like when its Starship rockets blow up, it is otherwise tight-lipped. But SpaceX's facility is now part of a newly-incorporated city called Starbase, Texas, and this accident happened within its borders. And after one of the Starship rockets blew up on a test stand last week, Starbase officials made a short post on X about it. There has been no post about the crane collapse, though, and the city has ignored direct appeals for information. TechCrunch has contacted Starbase's main media email address, its mayor, its two commissioners, its city administrator, and its clerk this week. None have responded to multiple requests for information about the accident. The collapse is one of the first tests of whether Starbase city has an appetite (and will) for transparency while being run by a SpaceX executive, and acting as a home for the company and more than 200 of its employees. Starbase is also financially beholden to Elon Musk's spaceflight company: Just this week, the city finalized a $1.5 million loan from SpaceX to fund the city's operations through September 2025. The idea of making a city called Starbase was first floated by Musk in 2021. But it wasn't until May of this year that it was formally became a city. Its citizens — mostly SpaceX employees — voted overwhelmingly to incorporate. SpaceX's vice president of 'Texas Test and Launch,' Bobby Peden, became mayor. The company's senior director of environmental, health, and safety Jordan Buss became a commissioner. The other commissioner, Jenna Petrzelka, worked at SpaceX for years. Techcrunch event Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW Those officials have been busy shaping the new city in the last few weeks. The city sent out a notice in late May to residents in a newly-proposed 'Mixed Use District' that they may 'lose the right to continue using' their property. The city also started erecting gates at SpaceX's request that limit access to the city, citing safety concerns. Buss said in a meeting that Starbase would grant access to outsiders 'if there's a need to be in the city' and provide 'access codes' to ambulances, firefighters, and law enforcement, according to Valley Central. It's not clear if those kinds of emergency services were needed Tuesday when the crane collapsed. The Cameron County Sheriff's department told TechCrunch that it did not receive any calls from Starbase around the time of the accident. Local fire officials from the nearby city of Brownsville and from Cameron County did not respond to requests for comment. All we know about the collapse — aside from seeing it happen — is that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has opened an investigation, according to CNBC. SpaceX has a troubled history of worker safety. But OSHA investigations take time, and the agency has been diminished by cuts from Musk's DOGE project. Musk's companies also do not have very constructive relationships with OSHA. In 2019, Tesla refused to let OSHA inspectors enter its factory in Nevada, even when those inspectors returned with a sheriff's deputy and a warrant signed by the judge.
