Just months after SpaceX landed a Falcon 9 rocket in the Bahamas for the first time, the country has hit pause on future landings pending an environmental review, according to news wire reports.
A top Bahamas government official announced on Tuesday (April 15) that the country was suspending future SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket landings until a “full environmental assessment” is complete, Reuters reported.
“No further clearances will be granted until a full environmental assessment is reviewed,” Reuters quoted Bahamian Director of Communications Latrae Rahming as writing on the social media site X.
SpaceX made its first Falcon 9 landing in the Bahamas on Feb. 18 during a Starlink satellite fleet launch. The Falcon 9’s first-stage booster returned to Earth to land on a SpaceX drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean stationed off the Bahamian coast.
“Our new landing collaboration with The Bahamas will enable Falcon 9 to launch to new orbital trajectories,” SpaceX wrote via X at the time. On the heels of that flight, officials in the Bahamas said they expected up to 19 more SpaceX landings throughout the year, but those landings would be subject to regulatory approval, Reuters reported.
It is unclear if the Falcon 9 landing pause in the Bahamas stems from the recent reentry of SpaceX’s Flight 8 Starship vehicle, which exploded and rained debris over parts of the Bahamas during a test launch on March 6. SpaceX’s Starship vehicle is a new reusable spacecraft that is different from the company’s workhorse Falcon 9 rockets.
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