Latest news with #RocketCargoVanguard
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Conservationists raise alarm over Air Force plan to land SpaceX Starships on bird sanctuary atoll
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The U.S. military is considering Johnston Atoll, a remote Pacific island chain that serves as an important refuge for dozens of seabird species, for "two commercial rocket landing pads" to test giant cargo rocket landings for the Department of the Air Force's (DAF) Rocket Cargo Vanguard program, and it's getting push-back from environmentalists. The Rocket Cargo Vanguard program aims to develop the technologies required to rapidly deliver up to 100 tons of cargo anywhere on Earth using commercial rockets. Though not explicitly named, Elon Musk's SpaceX is currently the only company —commercial or otherwise — capable of manufacturing rockets designed for landing and reuse, and its Starship megarocket is DAF's leading contender. The Air Force outlined its plans in a Federal Registry notice last month. Objections from the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), however, may hinder plans for the new landing pads on the South Pacific atoll. Johnston Atoll lies about 825 miles (1,325 kilometers) southwest of Hawaii, and is home to several different species of seabirds, including the largest known colony of Red-tailed Tropicbirds. It was designated a refuge for native bird populations in 1926, but suffered environmental degradation through 2004, due to its use by the U.S. military as a nuclear weapons testing and chemical weapons disposal site. Since the military's departure from the islands, restoration efforts have helped raise Johnston Atoll's bird population back to nearly 1.5 million. Now, critics say the planned new rocket infrastructure could undo decades of conservation work. 'Installing rocket landing pads on Johnston Atoll cannot occur without significantly disrupting wildlife," said ABC president Michael Parr in a statement. DAF has stated that environmental reviews will be conducted before any operations move forward, but ABC say it's not enough. ABC says the islands have become a crucial nesting habitat since the military's 2004 departure. Seabirds fly for thousands of miles across open water to reach Johnston Atoll, which sits alone amidst more than 570,000 square miles of ocean. Often times, the ABC says, it is the only land these birds see in their entire lives. "The proposed 10 rocket landings per year would pose serious ecological risks, including hazardous debris, contamination, noise pollution, and other impacts from potential failures and explosions," it says in the ABC statement, adding, "opening Johnston's airstrip to planes would destroy the ground-nesting seabird colonies that have reclaimed the entire runway." ABC expects the DAF to issue a Draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) in the near future, but believes the study will overlook the possible major impacts to the region's bird populations. Instead, they are requesting the DAF prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement "to better assess the potential hazards posed by the project." Starship is SpaceX's newest rocket under development, and currently stands as the world's largest, most powerful launch vehicle. The company began orbital flight tests of the megarocket in April 2023, with a mostly steady progression of milestones over the course of eight launches. It's last two though, which launched a taller, upgraded version of Starship's upper stage, have stinted that progress, with both flights ending in the unexpected loss of the vehicle during ascent. RELATED STORIES: — SpaceX loses Starship rocket again, but catches giant Super Heavy booster during Flight 8 launch (video) — Starship and Super Heavy explained — Will 2025 be the year of Starship? SpaceX's megarocket is growing up. SpaceX has already faced environmental scrutiny over its Starbase test site near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas, where it manufactures and launches Starship from a facility surrounded by other dedicated wildlife areas. Past launches have sparked legal action and criticisms from environmentalists there as well. SpaceX has designed Starship to be fully reusable, and capable of carrying both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the moon, and eventually Mars. It's built for high-capacity, rapid-turnaround spaceflight, and is central to SpaceX's long-term vision to make human life interplanetary. Beyond commercial and military applications, NASA has contracted a version of Starship under its Human Landing System (HLS) program to serve as one of the lunar landers for the agency's Artemis Program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon's surface later this decade. It is slated to land the first Artemis astronauts on the moon on the Artemis 3 mission no earlier than 2027.
Khaleej Times
02-04-2025
- Science
- Khaleej Times
SpaceX rocket cargo project puts Pacific seabirds in jeopardy
A project proposed by Elon Musk's SpaceX and the US Air Force to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries from a remote Pacific atoll could harm the many seabirds that nest at the wildlife refuge, according to biologists and experts who have spent more than a decade working to protect them. It would not be the first time that SpaceX's activities have affected protected birds. A SpaceX launch of its Starship rocket in Boca Chica, Texas, last year involved a blast that destroyed nests and eggs of plover shorebirds, landing the billionaire Musk's company in legal trouble and leading him to remark jokingly that he would refrain from eating omelets for a week to compensate. The Air Force announced in March that it has selected Johnston Atoll, a US territory in the central Pacific Ocean located nearly 1,300km southwest of the state of Hawaii, as the site to test the Rocket Cargo Vanguard programme it is developing with SpaceX. The project involves test landing rocket re-entry vehicles designed to deliver up to 100 tonnes of cargo to anywhere on Earth within about 90 minutes. It would be a breakthrough for military logistics by making it easier to move supplies quickly into distant locations. According to biologists and experts who have worked on the 2.6sqkm atoll — designated as a US National Wildlife Refuge and part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument — the project could be too much for the island's 14 species of tropical birds to withstand. Roughly a million seabirds use the atoll, home to a variety of wildlife, throughout the year, up from just a few thousand in the 1980s. The bird species include red-tailed tropicbirds, red-footed boobies and great frigatebirds, which have eight-foot wingspans. "Any sort of aviation that happens to the island is going to have an impact at this point," said Hawaii-based biologist Steven Minamishin, who works for the National Wildlife Refuge System, part of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. "The biggest issue this will bring is the sound of the rocket flushing birds off of their nests and having them so anxious and unsure as to not return to their nest, resulting in a loss of generation," said University of Texas wildlife biologist Ryan Rash, who spent nearly a year on Johnston. The project would involve construction of two landing pads and the relanding of 10 rockets over four years. The Air Force and SpaceX are preparing an environmental assessment of the project in the coming weeks for public comment. The assessment is a requirement under a law called the National Environmental Policy Act before the Air Force can proceed with the project, which it wants to start this year. The Air Force in a Federal Register notice in March said the project was unlikely to have a significant environmental impact but noted it could harm migratory birds. A spokesperson for the US Air Force said it is closely consulting with the Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Fisheries Service, "to assess impacts and develop necessary measures for avoiding, minimising and/or mitigating potential environmental impacts". Space X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Musk is serving as an adviser to President Donald Trump as they work to downsize and remake the federal government and eliminate thousands of employees. 'All that's left' In the Pacific, where unpopulated land is scarce and threatened by sea level rise, the birds depend on Johnston for their nesting and survival, according to the biologists interviewed by Reuters. This makes the protection of these birds essential, said Desirée Sorenson-Groves, president of the National Wildlife Refuge Association, a nonprofit group focused on protecting US National Wildlife Refuge System. "These little remote oceanic islands are all that's left for them," Sorenson-Groves said. "We've invested a lot of money as a country to bring back wildlife to these places." Johnston Atoll, closed to the public, is administered by the Air Force and managed by Fish and Wildlife Service. The island was used for nuclear testing from the late 1950s to 1962, and to stockpile chemical munitions including Agent Orange from 1972 to 1975. The Air Force completed a clean-up of the atoll in 2004, and it has served as a haven for nesting seabirds and migrating shore birds since. Visits by people to the island have been highly controlled to avoid disturbing the birds. The Fish and Wildlife Service led an effort to eradicate yellow-crazy ants, an invasive species, on the atoll after it was declared a refuge, sending crews for six-month stints starting in 2010 and ending in 2021. Crews brought their clothing in sealed bags, had their equipment frozen and sanitized, and used separate island shoes to prevent new species from invading the atoll, said Eric Baker, a Fish and Wildlife Service volunteer and wildlife photographer who spent a year on Johnston. "The basic rule was cause no or as little disturbance as possible," Baker said. Baker said he is worried that the SpaceX project will undo all the painstaking conservation efforts over the years. "The nests and the birds there are just going to be kind of vaporized," Baker said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
02-04-2025
- Science
- Asharq Al-Awsat
SpaceX Rocket Cargo Project Puts Pacific Seabirds in Jeopardy
A project proposed by Elon Musk's SpaceX and the US Air Force to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries from a remote Pacific atoll could harm the many seabirds that nest at the wildlife refuge, according to biologists and experts who have spent more than a decade working to protect them. It would not be the first time that SpaceX's activities have affected protected birds. A SpaceX launch of its Starship rocket in Boca Chica, Texas, last year involved a blast that destroyed nests and eggs of plover shorebirds, landing the billionaire Musk's company in legal trouble and leading him to remark jokingly that he would refrain from eating omelets for a week to compensate, Reuters reported. The Air Force announced in March that it has selected Johnston Atoll, a US territory in the central Pacific Ocean located nearly 800 miles (1,300 km) southwest of the state of Hawaii, as the site to test the Rocket Cargo Vanguard program it is developing with SpaceX. The project involves test landing rocket re-entry vehicles designed to deliver up to 100 tons of cargo to anywhere on Earth within about 90 minutes. It would be a breakthrough for military logistics by making it easier to move supplies quickly into distant locations. According to biologists and experts who have worked on the one-square-mile (2.6 square km) atoll - designated as a US National Wildlife Refuge and part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument - the project could be too much for the island's 14 species of tropical birds to withstand. Roughly a million seabirds use the atoll, home to a variety of wildlife, throughout the year, up from just a few thousand in the 1980s. The bird species include red-tailed tropicbirds, red-footed boobies and great frigatebirds, which have eight-foot (2-1/2 meter) wingspans. "Any sort of aviation that happens to the island is going to have an impact at this point," said Hawaii-based biologist Steven Minamishin, who works for the National Wildlife Refuge System, part of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. "The biggest issue this will bring is the sound of the rocket flushing birds off of their nests and having them so anxious and unsure as to not return to their nest, resulting in a loss of generation," said University of Texas wildlife biologist Ryan Rash, who spent nearly a year on Johnston. The project would involve construction of two landing pads and the relanding of 10 rockets over four years. The Air Force and SpaceX are preparing an environmental assessment of the project in the coming weeks for public comment. The assessment is a requirement under a law called the National Environmental Policy Act before the Air Force can proceed with the project, which it wants to start this year. The Air Force in a Federal Register notice in March said the project was unlikely to have a significant environmental impact but noted it could harm migratory birds. A spokesperson for the US Air Force said it is closely consulting with the Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Fisheries Service, "to assess impacts and develop necessary measures for avoiding, minimizing and/or mitigating potential environmental impacts." Space X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Musk is serving as an adviser to President Donald Trump as they work to downsize and remake the federal government and eliminate thousands of employees. 'ALL THAT'S LEFT' In the Pacific, where unpopulated land is scarce and threatened by sea level rise, the birds depend on Johnston for their nesting and survival, according to the biologists interviewed by Reuters. This makes the protection of these birds essential, said Desirée Sorenson-Groves, president of the National Wildlife Refuge Association, a nonprofit group focused on protecting US National Wildlife Refuge System. "These little remote oceanic islands are all that's left for them," Sorenson-Groves said. "We've invested a lot of money as a country to bring back wildlife to these places." Johnston Atoll, closed to the public, is administered by the Air Force and managed by Fish and Wildlife Service. The island was used for nuclear testing from the late 1950s to 1962, and to stockpile chemical munitions including Agent Orange from 1972 to 1975. The Air Force completed a clean-up of the atoll in 2004, and it has served as a haven for nesting seabirds and migrating shore birds since. Visits by people to the island have been highly controlled to avoid disturbing the birds. The Fish and Wildlife Service led an effort to eradicate yellow-crazy ants, an invasive species, on the atoll after it was declared a refuge, sending crews for six-month stints starting in 2010 and ending in 2021. Crews brought their clothing in sealed bags, had their equipment frozen and sanitized, and used separate island shoes to prevent new species from invading the atoll, said Eric Baker, a Fish and Wildlife Service volunteer and wildlife photographer who spent a year on Johnston. "The basic rule was cause no or as little disturbance as possible," Baker said. Baker said he is worried that the SpaceX project will undo all the painstaking conservation efforts over the years. "The nests and the birds there are just going to be kind of vaporized," Baker said.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
SpaceX rocket cargo project puts Pacific seabirds in jeopardy
By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A project proposed by Elon Musk's SpaceX and the U.S. Air Force to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries from a remote Pacific atoll could harm the many seabirds that nest at the wildlife refuge, according to biologists and experts who have spent more than a decade working to protect them. It would not be the first time that SpaceX's activities have affected protected birds. A SpaceX launch of its Starship rocket in Boca Chica, Texas, last year involved a blast that destroyed nests and eggs of plover shorebirds, landing the billionaire Musk's company in legal trouble and leading him to remark jokingly that he would refrain from eating omelets for a week to compensate. The Air Force announced in March that it has selected Johnston Atoll, a U.S. territory in the central Pacific Ocean located nearly 800 miles (1,300 km) southwest of the state of Hawaii, as the site to test the Rocket Cargo Vanguard program it is developing with SpaceX. The project involves test landing rocket re-entry vehicles designed to deliver up to 100 tons of cargo to anywhere on Earth within about 90 minutes. It would be a breakthrough for military logistics by making it easier to move supplies quickly into distant locations. According to biologists and experts who have worked on the one-square-mile (2.6 square km) atoll - designated as a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge and part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument - the project could be too much for the island's 14 species of tropical birds to withstand. Roughly a million seabirds use the atoll, home to a variety of wildlife, throughout the year, up from just a few thousand in the 1980s. The bird species include red-tailed tropicbirds, red-footed boobies and great frigatebirds, which have eight-foot (2-1/2 meter) wingspans. "Any sort of aviation that happens to the island is going to have an impact at this point," said Hawaii-based biologist Steven Minamishin, who works for the National Wildlife Refuge System, part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "The biggest issue this will bring is the sound of the rocket flushing birds off of their nests and having them so anxious and unsure as to not return to their nest, resulting in a loss of generation," said University of Texas wildlife biologist Ryan Rash, who spent nearly a year on Johnston. The project would involve construction of two landing pads and the relanding of 10 rockets over four years. The Air Force and SpaceX are preparing an environmental assessment of the project in the coming weeks for public comment. The assessment is a requirement under a law called the National Environmental Policy Act before the Air Force can proceed with the project, which it wants to start this year. The Air Force in a Federal Register notice in March said the project was unlikely to have a significant environmental impact but noted it could harm migratory birds. A spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force said it is closely consulting with the Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Fisheries Service, "to assess impacts and develop necessary measures for avoiding, minimizing and/or mitigating potential environmental impacts." Space X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Musk is serving as an adviser to President Donald Trump as they work to downsize and remake the federal government and eliminate thousands of employees. 'ALL THAT'S LEFT' In the Pacific, where unpopulated land is scarce and threatened by sea level rise, the birds depend on Johnston for their nesting and survival, according to the biologists interviewed by Reuters. This makes the protection of these birds essential, said Desirée Sorenson-Groves, president of the National Wildlife Refuge Association, a nonprofit group focused on protecting U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System. "These little remote oceanic islands are all that's left for them," Sorenson-Groves said. "We've invested a lot of money as a country to bring back wildlife to these places." Johnston Atoll, closed to the public, is administered by the Air Force and managed by Fish and Wildlife Service. The island was used for nuclear testing from the late 1950s to 1962, and to stockpile chemical munitions including Agent Orange from 1972 to 1975. The Air Force completed a clean-up of the atoll in 2004, and it has served as a haven for nesting seabirds and migrating shore birds since. Visits by people to the island have been highly controlled to avoid disturbing the birds. The Fish and Wildlife Service led an effort to eradicate yellow-crazy ants, an invasive species, on the atoll after it was declared a refuge, sending crews for six-month stints starting in 2010 and ending in 2021. Crews brought their clothing in sealed bags, had their equipment frozen and sanitized, and used separate island shoes to prevent new species from invading the atoll, said Eric Baker, a Fish and Wildlife Service volunteer and wildlife photographer who spent a year on Johnston. "The basic rule was cause no or as little disturbance as possible," Baker said. Baker said he is worried that the SpaceX project will undo all the painstaking conservation efforts over the years. "The nests and the birds there are just going to be kind of vaporized," Baker said.
Reuters
02-04-2025
- Science
- Reuters
SpaceX rocket cargo project puts Pacific seabirds in jeopardy
WASHINGTON, April 2 (Reuters) - A project proposed by Elon Musk 's SpaceX and the U.S. Air Force to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries from a remote Pacific atoll could harm the many seabirds that nest at the wildlife refuge, according to biologists and experts who have spent more than a decade working to protect them. It would not be the first time that SpaceX's activities have affected protected birds. A SpaceX launch of its Starship rocket in Boca Chica, Texas, last year involved a blast that destroyed nests and eggs of plover shorebirds, landing the billionaire Musk's company in legal trouble and leading him to remark jokingly that he would refrain from eating omelets for a week to compensate. The Air Force announced in March that it has selected Johnston Atoll, a U.S. territory in the central Pacific Ocean located nearly 800 miles (1,300 km) southwest of the state of Hawaii, as the site to test the Rocket Cargo Vanguard program it is developing with SpaceX. The project involves test landing rocket re-entry vehicles designed to deliver up to 100 tons of cargo to anywhere on Earth within about 90 minutes. It would be a breakthrough for military logistics by making it easier to move supplies quickly into distant locations. According to biologists and experts who have worked on the one-square-mile (2.6 square km) atoll - designated as a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge and part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument - the project could be too much for the island's 14 species of tropical birds to withstand. Roughly a million seabirds use the atoll, home to a variety of wildlife, throughout the year, up from just a few thousand in the 1980s. The bird species include red-tailed tropicbirds, red-footed boobies and great frigatebirds, which have eight-foot (2-1/2 meter) wingspans. "Any sort of aviation that happens to the island is going to have an impact at this point," said Hawaii-based biologist Steven Minamishin, who works for the National Wildlife Refuge System, part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "The biggest issue this will bring is the sound of the rocket flushing birds off of their nests and having them so anxious and unsure as to not return to their nest, resulting in a loss of generation," said University of Texas wildlife biologist Ryan Rash, who spent nearly a year on Johnston. The project would involve construction of two landing pads and the relanding of 10 rockets over four years. The Air Force and SpaceX are preparing an environmental assessment of the project in the coming weeks for public comment. The assessment is a requirement under a law called the National Environmental Policy Act before the Air Force can proceed with the project, which it wants to start this year. The Air Force in a Federal Register notice in March said the project was unlikely to have a significant environmental impact but noted it could harm migratory birds. A spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force said it is closely consulting with the Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Fisheries Service, "to assess impacts and develop necessary measures for avoiding, minimizing and/or mitigating potential environmental impacts." Space X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Musk is serving as an adviser to President Donald Trump as they work to downsize and remake the federal government and eliminate thousands of employees. 'ALL THAT'S LEFT' In the Pacific, where unpopulated land is scarce and threatened by sea level rise, the birds depend on Johnston for their nesting and survival, according to the biologists interviewed by Reuters. This makes the protection of these birds essential, said Desirée Sorenson-Groves, president of the National Wildlife Refuge Association, a nonprofit group focused on protecting U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System. "These little remote oceanic islands are all that's left for them," Sorenson-Groves said. "We've invested a lot of money as a country to bring back wildlife to these places." Johnston Atoll, closed to the public, is administered by the Air Force and managed by Fish and Wildlife Service. The island was used for nuclear testing from the late 1950s to 1962, and to stockpile chemical munitions including Agent Orange from 1972 to 1975. The Air Force completed a clean-up of the atoll in 2004, and it has served as a haven for nesting seabirds and migrating shore birds since. Visits by people to the island have been highly controlled to avoid disturbing the birds. The Fish and Wildlife Service led an effort to eradicate yellow-crazy ants, an invasive species, on the atoll after it was declared a refuge, sending crews for six-month stints starting in 2010 and ending in 2021. Crews brought their clothing in sealed bags, had their equipment frozen and sanitized, and used separate island shoes to prevent new species from invading the atoll, said Eric Baker, a Fish and Wildlife Service volunteer and wildlife photographer who spent a year on Johnston. "The basic rule was cause no or as little disturbance as possible," Baker said. Baker said he is worried that the SpaceX project will undo all the painstaking conservation efforts over the years. "The nests and the birds there are just going to be kind of vaporized," Baker said.
