The author of this post seems to really hate the Fish and Wildlife Service, and also is apparently unaware that interagency beaurocracy is just generally kind of slow.
> At the time the FAA however was very clear: No launch license until Fish & Wildlife gave its environmental approval as well. Never before had this environmental agency had veto power over launches, but under the Biden administration it now has it.
Why does Fish and Wildlife have the power to block starship launches?
Since when does a bloated government bureaucracy of the Dept of the Interior get to throw their weight around a sandy island that's literally on the border with another country, and block, literally, interplanetary travel for EIGHT months?
When that sandy island is near wetlands which are protected land. When the first Starship launch threw dirt and concrete into that protected land. Maybe SpaceX should have given stronger consideration to the environmental factors of this site.
> Though Fish & Wildlife could have begun its own investigation in April, and met the 135-day deadline to give its approval for a launch the same time as the FAA, in September, it now appears that it did not start its clock ticking until after the FAA closed its work. If so, it appears Fish & Wildlife has until early January to complete its investigation.
The FWA is exercising a brand new power here, and obviously dragging it out as long as it can - but at whose orders? Maybe Elon should have coughed up 10% for "the big guy" or bought some of Hunter's paintings.
SpaceX probably got some good talent to push this through, but probably didn't foresee Biden's 4D chess move of using the FWA of all things to creatively block them. What's next? Perhaps the Dept of Education needs to weigh in on this.
