While the spectacle of SpaceX's new Starship rocket blowing up over the Gulf of Mexico riveted the public's attention, it was the explosive nature of the launch at ground level that was drawing heightened scrutiny from the government this week.
The shattering force of last Thursday's launch in South Texas sent a cloud of pulverized concrete raining over a small town nearby, federal regulators said, raising fresh questions about the environmental impact of ramped-up launch operations at the site.
The blastoff from the SpaceX facility, adjacent to a national wildlife refuge near Boca Chica Beach, also hurled large chunks of concrete and metal thousands of feet away and ignited a 3.5-acre (1.4-hectare) fire on nearby grounds, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
