{"id":1234,"date":"2018-04-16T09:53:59","date_gmt":"2018-04-16T13:53:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/?p=1234"},"modified":"2018-04-16T09:53:59","modified_gmt":"2018-04-16T13:53:59","slug":"the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"The FAA Requests Comments on Environmental Effects of SpaceX Reentries in the Gulf of Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"

On April 5, 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration published a notice in the Federal Register<\/strong><\/a> requesting comments on its draft environmental assessment for licensing SpaceX Dragon reentries in the Gulf of Mexico.\u00a0 The FAA must conduct an environmental assessment of its major federal actions under the National Environmental Policy Act.\u00a0 Issuing a license is a major federal action.\u00a0 When a private U.S. entity such as SpaceX reenters a reentry vehicle anywhere in the world it must obtain a reentry license from the FAA. Thus, before it may issue SpaceX a reentry license, the FAA must first assess the environmental effects of its major federal action.<\/p>\n

The FAA describes its proposal as follows:<\/p>\n

\n

The FAA is evaluating SpaceX\u2019s proposal to conduct Dragon landings in the Gulf of Mexico, which would require the FAA to issue a reentry license. SpaceX has two versions of Dragon: Dragon-1 and Dragon-2. Dragon-1 is used for cargo missions to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX intends that Dragon-2 will eventually be used to transport astronauts to the ISS. Under the Proposed Action, the FAA would issue a reentry license to SpaceX, which would authorize SpaceX to conduct up to six Dragon landing operations per year in the Gulf of Mexico. Each landing operation would include orbital reentry, splashdown, and recovery. Alternatives under consideration include the Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative. Under the No Action Alternative, the FAA would not issue a reentry license to SpaceX for Dragon reentry and splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX would continue to conduct Dragon reentries and splashdowns in the Pacific Ocean authorized under an FAA reentry license.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The Draft EA evaluates the potential environmental impacts from the Proposed Action and No Action Alternative on air quality; climate; noise and noise-compatible land use; Department of Transportation Act, section 4(f); biological resources (including aquatic plants and animals and special status species); coastal resources; water resources; natural resources and energy supply; and hazardous materials, solid waste, and pollution prevention. Potential cumulative impacts are also addressed in this EA.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n<\/blockquote>\n

Comments due<\/strong>:\u00a0 Anyone seeking to comment on the FAA’s draft assessment of the potential effects listed above should do so by May 4, 2018.\u00a0 The notice contains explicit instructions on how and where to comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On April 5, 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration published a notice in the Federal Register requesting comments on its draft…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[114,98,111],"class_list":["post-1234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-environmental","tag-nepa","tag-reentry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe FAA Requests Comments on Environmental Effects of SpaceX Reentries in the Gulf of Mexico - Ground Based Space Matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The FAA Requests Comments on Environmental Effects of SpaceX Reentries in the Gulf of Mexico - Ground Based Space Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On April 5, 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration published a notice in the Federal Register requesting comments on its draft…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ground Based Space Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-16T13:53:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Laura Montgomery\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Laura Montgomery\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Laura Montgomery\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/#\/schema\/person\/03ef87affa9138c578663639f4af45be\"},\"headline\":\"The FAA Requests Comments on Environmental Effects of SpaceX Reentries in the Gulf of Mexico\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-16T13:53:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/\"},\"wordCount\":387,\"commentCount\":0,\"keywords\":[\"environmental\",\"NEPA\",\"reentry\"],\"articleSection\":[\"uncategorized\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/\",\"name\":\"The FAA Requests Comments on Environmental Effects of SpaceX Reentries in the Gulf of Mexico - Ground Based Space Matters\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-16T13:53:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/#\/schema\/person\/03ef87affa9138c578663639f4af45be\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The FAA Requests Comments on Environmental Effects of SpaceX Reentries in the Gulf of Mexico\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/\",\"name\":\"Ground Based Space Matters\",\"description\":\"SPACE LAW AND POLICY\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/#\/schema\/person\/03ef87affa9138c578663639f4af45be\",\"name\":\"Laura Montgomery\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/17139e93c1e5d9ae1386274fba9dfaad5cfde444e9129ed54b43ba53c8ecb921?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/17139e93c1e5d9ae1386274fba9dfaad5cfde444e9129ed54b43ba53c8ecb921?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Laura Montgomery\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/author\/lmontgomery\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The FAA Requests Comments on Environmental Effects of SpaceX Reentries in the Gulf of Mexico - Ground Based Space Matters","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The FAA Requests Comments on Environmental Effects of SpaceX Reentries in the Gulf of Mexico - Ground Based Space Matters","og_description":"On April 5, 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration published a notice in the Federal Register requesting comments on its draft…","og_url":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/","og_site_name":"Ground Based Space Matters","article_published_time":"2018-04-16T13:53:59+00:00","author":"Laura Montgomery","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Laura Montgomery","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/"},"author":{"name":"Laura Montgomery","@id":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/#\/schema\/person\/03ef87affa9138c578663639f4af45be"},"headline":"The FAA Requests Comments on Environmental Effects of SpaceX Reentries in the Gulf of Mexico","datePublished":"2018-04-16T13:53:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/"},"wordCount":387,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["environmental","NEPA","reentry"],"articleSection":["uncategorized"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/","url":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/","name":"The FAA Requests Comments on Environmental Effects of SpaceX Reentries in the Gulf of Mexico - Ground Based Space Matters","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-04-16T13:53:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/#\/schema\/person\/03ef87affa9138c578663639f4af45be"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/the-faa-requests-comments-on-environmental-effects-of-spacex-reentries-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The FAA Requests Comments on Environmental Effects of SpaceX Reentries in the Gulf of Mexico"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/","name":"Ground Based Space Matters","description":"SPACE LAW AND POLICY","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/#\/schema\/person\/03ef87affa9138c578663639f4af45be","name":"Laura Montgomery","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/17139e93c1e5d9ae1386274fba9dfaad5cfde444e9129ed54b43ba53c8ecb921?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/17139e93c1e5d9ae1386274fba9dfaad5cfde444e9129ed54b43ba53c8ecb921?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Laura Montgomery"},"url":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/author\/lmontgomery\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7TWJG-jU","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1234"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1255,"href":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1234\/revisions\/1255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/groundbasedspacematters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}