SpaceX's Texas Expansion Plans hit by a Fourth FAA Delay

Elon Musk-led SpaceX’s expansion plans have been delayed. It has been delayed as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has delayed completing an environmental review of SpaceX's new launch site in Texas. The FAA delayed this review for the fourth time in five months. The environmental review of Tesla’s site was started by the FAA in the month of July 2020 and it was supposed to be completed by December 2021. The FAA now estimates to complete its review of the SpaceX launch site called a Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA), by the end of this month.

Elon Musk-led space agency SpaceX intends to expand the Starbase site in Texas, Boca Chica by adding a second launch and landing pad. The space agency can only commence orbital launches of its huge Starship rocket after the FAA's assessment is complete. The FAA said it is still "responding to comments" and "confirming mitigations for the proposed SpaceX operations." However, FAA’s review isn’t the only problem which had postponed the expansion plans of SpaceX. Last month, the US Army Corps of Engineers sought more information on the environmental impact of the plans on local endangered species and surrounding areas.