spacetoday.net: FAA gives environmental OK for SpaceX Texas spaceport

Posted: Thu, Jul 10, 2014, 8:47 AM ET (1247 GMT)
SpaceX Brownsville spaceport illus. (SpaceX)

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved an environmental assessment that would allow SpaceX to perform launches from a proposed launch site near Brownsville, Texas. The "Record of Decision" from the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation, signed Wednesday, approves SpaceX's plans to perform launches from the site on the Gulf of Mexico several kilometers north of the Mexican border. The decision outlines the mitigation steps that SpaceX would need to follow if it built and operated the facility, including protecting endangered wildlife in the area. SpaceX has not made a decision on building a launch facility there, but officials previously said the Brownsville site was the leading candidate for a new launch facility that would be used for commercial missions.