Environmental groups sue FAA over SpaceX launch

Environmental groups filed a lawsuit Monday against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), accusing the agency of breaking federal conservation acts when it allowed the launch of SpaceX's Starship rocket last month. The lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., district court, said the FAA did not conduct an in-depth environmental study on the potential effects of the rocket — the heaviest ever assembled. The Starship rocket blew up several minutes after the launch, which took place in Boca Chica, Texas, on April 20. The explosion of the spacecraft, which had no crew on board, scattered concrete, metal, and debris thousands of feet into environmentally protected areas. A 3.5-acre fire also broke out in a nearby state park as a result,