By: Bowen Wang

Elon Musk, the founder, CEO, and chief engineer of SpaceX, has successfully launched the largest rocket in the world: the Starship. It was a great leap for SpaceX, but many wildlife societies considered it a threat.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is concerned about recent SpaceX launches because during its latest launch, a few months ago, the damage was obvious.

According to the New York Times, “Chunks of sheet metal and insulation were strewn across the sand flats on one side of a state park. Elsewhere, a small fire had ignited, leaving a charred patch of park grasslands.” The entire blastoff used 7.5 million pounds of fuel.

Birds have been hurt in the cataclysmic event. The Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program recorded nine bird nests before the takeoff. After, none remained. The only remnants of the birds were a lot of egg yolk splattered all over the ground.

Other than physical damage, during the takeoff, the sound level of the takeoff was tremendously loud. It exceeded 143.8 decibels, which is considered “painful and dangerous.” This can cause impairment to human hearing just after listening to it for a second. Imagine how the birds nearby felt.

SpaceX is not very reliable. Records reveal how the untrustworthy company expanded itself far larger than Mr. Musk had promised.

Mark Spier, who served as the top local official for the National Park Service when the SpaceX project got underway, said, “We were being misled.”

SpaceX’s next launch will be on July 30, 2024. Citizens near the launchpad hope for less damage than the Starship.

Image Credit by SpaceX