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technology Tuesday 2 May 2023
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Environmental groups sue FAA over SpaceX Texas rocket launch HEALTH

DOCTOR ON DUTY
By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer Oranjestad
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Hospital 7:00 pm / 10:00pm
(AP) — Wildlife and envi- Tel. 527 4000
ronmental groups sued San Nicolas
the Federal Aviation Ad- Imsan 24 hours
ministration on Monday Tel.524 8833
over SpaceX's launch last Women in Difficulties
month of its giant rocket PHARMACY ON DUTY
from Texas.
SpaceX's Starship soared Oranjestad:
Kibrahacha: Tel. 583 4908
24 miles (39 kilometers) high San Nicolas: Tel. 584 5712
before exploding over the
Gulf of Mexico on April 20. Women in Difficulties
The rocket's self-destruct OTHER
system caused the nearly Dental Clinic 587 9850
400-foot (120-meter) rock- Blood Bank Aruba 587 0002
et to blow up, as it spun out Urgent Care 586 0448
of control just minutes into Walk-In Doctor’s Clinic
+297 588 0539
the test flight. SpaceX's Starship turns after its launch from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Thursday, April 20, Women in Difficulties
An attorney for the Cen- 2023. Associated Press EMERGENCY
ter for Biological Diversity,
one of the plaintiffs, said of meters) from the pad. as. we're aware of," Musk said. Police 100
the groups are suing over In addition, a plume of "It's vital that we protect life Musk has promised to Oranjestad 527 3140
Noord
527 3200
what they consider to be pulverized concrete sent on Earth even as we look make improvements to the Sta. Cruz 527 2900
the FAA's failure to fully material up to 6.4 miles (4 to the stars in this modern next Starship before it flies. San Nicolas 584 5000
consider the environmen- kilometers) northwest of the era of spaceflight," the The self-destruct system will Police Tipline 11141
tal impacts of the Starship pad, the service noted. Center for Biological Diver- need to be modified, he Ambulancia 911
program near Boca Chi- It was the first launch of a sity's Jared Margolis said in said, so that the rocket ex- Fire Dept. 115
ca Beach in South Texas. full-size Starship, with the a statement. "Federal offi- plodes immediately — not Red Cross 582 2219
They asked the court to sci-fi-looking spacecraft on cials should defend vulner- 40 seconds or so afterward, TAXI SERVICES
throw out the five-year li- top the huge booster rock- able wildlife and frontline as was the case with this in- Taxi Tas 587 5900
cense the FAA granted to et. The company plans to communities, not give a augural run, he said.q Prof. Taxi 588 0035
SpaceX. The FAA declined use it to send people and pass to corporate interests Taxi D.T.S. 587 2300
comment, noting it doesn't cargo to the moon and, ul- that want to use treasured Taxi Serv. Aruba 583 3232
comment on ongoing timately, Mars. NASA wants coastal landscapes as a A1 Taxi Serv. 280 2828
litigation. The agency is to use Starship to ferry as- dumping ground for space Women in Difficulties
overseeing the accident tronauts to the lunar sur- waste." TRAVEL INFO
investigation and has or- face as soon as 2025. Over the weekend, Musk Aruba Airport 524 2424
dered all SpaceX Starships Joining the Center for said changes are being American Airlines 582 2700
grounded until it's certain Biological Diversity in the made at the launch pad Avianca 588 0059
that public safety will not lawsuit, filed in U.S. District to avoid what he called a Jet Blue 588 2244
be compromised. Court in Washington, are dust storm and "rock torna- Surinam 582 7896
Over the weekend, SpaceX the American Bird Conser- do" at the next launch. Women in Difficulties
founder and chief execu- vancy, Surfrider Founda- "To the best of our knowl- AID FOUNDATIONS
tive, Elon Musk, said his tion, Save RGV (Rio Grande edge there has not been FAVI- Visually Impaired
company could be ready Valley) and the Carrizo/ any meaningful damage Tel. 582 5051
to launch the next Starship Comecrudo Nation of Tex- to the environment that Alcoholics Anonymous
in six to eight weeks with Tel. 736 2952
the FAA's OK. Narcotics Anonymous
No injuries or significant Tel. 583 8989
damage to public proper- Fundacion Contra Violencia
ty were reported from any Relacional Tel. 583 5400
of the rocket wreckage or Centre for Diabetes
flying pad debris. A large Tel. 524 8888
crater was carved into the Child Abuse Prevention
Tel. 582 4433
concrete pad, as most of
the rocket's 33 main en- Quota Club Tel. 525 2672
Women in Difficulties
gines ignited at liftoff. General Info
The launch pad is on a Phone Directory Tel. 118
remote site on the south-
ernmost tip of Texas, just
below South Padre Island,
and about 20 miles from
Brownsville.
The U.S. Fish and Wild-
life Service reported last
week that large concrete
chunks, stainless steel
sheets, metal and other
objects were hurled thou-
sands of feet (hundreds facebook.com/arubatoday/