[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 187 (Tuesday, September 27, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59768-59769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24717]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST); Notice of 
Availability and Request for Comment on the Draft Environmental 
Assessment (EA) for Issuing an Experimental Permit to SpaceX for 
Operation of the Grasshopper Vehicle at the McGregor Test Site, Texas

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of Availability, Notice of Public Comment Period, and 
Request for Comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969, 42 United States Code 4321-4347 (as amended), Council 
on Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA implementing regulations (40 Code 
of Federal Regulations [CFR] parts 1500-1508), and FAA Order 1050.1E, 
Change 1, the FAA is announcing the availability of and requesting 
comments on the Draft EA for Issuing an Experimental Permit to SpaceX 
for Operation of the Grasshopper Vehicle at the McGregor Test Site, 
Texas.
    The Draft EA was prepared in response to an application for an 
experimental permit from Space Exploration Technologies Corporation 
(SpaceX). Under the Proposed Action, the FAA would issue an 
experimental permit to SpaceX to conduct suborbital launches and 
landings of the Grasshopper Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) from the 
McGregor test site in McGregor, TX. The Grasshopper RLV is a vertical 
takeoff and vertical landing vehicle. The McGregor test site is located 
within the city limits of the City of McGregor, TX in Coryell and 
McLennan Counties, approximately 20 miles southwest of Waco, TX. The 
Draft EA addresses the potential environmental impacts of implementing 
the Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative of not issuing an 
experimental permit to SpaceX.
    The FAA has posted the Draft EA on the FAA/AST Web site at http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/. In addition, 
copies of the Draft EA were sent to persons and institutions on the 
distribution list (see Chapter 8 of the Draft EA). A paper copy of the 
Draft EA may be reviewed for comment during regular business hours at 
the following location:
    McGinley Memorial Library, 317 Main Street, McGregor, TX 76657.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit comments on 
environmental issues and concerns on or before October 26, 2011, or 30 
days from the date of publication of this Notice of Availability, 
whichever is later.

ADDRESSES: Please submit comments in writing to Mr. Daniel Czelusniak, 
Environmental Program Lead, Office of Commercial Space Transportation, 
Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 
325, Washington, DC 20591; or by e-mail at [email protected].
    Additional Information: Under the Proposed Action, the FAA would 
issue an experimental permit to SpaceX, which would authorize SpaceX to 
conduct suborbital launches and landings of the Grasshopper RLV from 
the McGregor test site in McGregor, TX. SpaceX has determined that to 
support the Grasshopper RLV activities under the experimental permit, 
it would be necessary to construct a launch pad and additional support 
infrastructure (water lines). Therefore, the Proposed Action analyzed 
in the Draft EA includes the activities that would be authorized by the 
experimental permit (i.e., the operation of the launch vehicle) as well 
as the construction of the launch pad and installation of water lines. 
The experimental permit would be valid for one year and would authorize 
an unlimited number of launches. The FAA could renew the experimental 
permit if requested, in writing, by SpaceX at least 60 days before the 
permit expires. SpaceX anticipates that the Grasshopper RLV program 
would require up to 3 years to complete. Therefore, the Proposed Action 
considers one new permit and two potential permit renewals.
    Although an experimental permit would authorize an unlimited number 
of launches, the FAA, in conjunction with SpaceX, developed a 
conservative set of assumptions regarding the possible number of 
launches that could be conducted under any one experimental permit for 
the Grasshopper RLV at the McGregor test

[[Page 59769]]

site. The FAA has assumed that SpaceX would conduct up to 70 annual 
suborbital launches of the Grasshopper RLV under an experimental permit 
at the McGregor test site. This estimation is a conservative number and 
considers potential multiple launches per day and potential launch 
failures.
    The only alternative to the Proposed Action analyzed in the Draft 
EA is the No Action Alternative. Under the No Action Alternative, the 
FAA would not issue an experimental permit to SpaceX for operation of 
the Grasshopper RLV at the McGregor test site. Existing SpaceX 
activities would continue at the McGregor test site. Please refer to 
Section 2.2 of the Draft EA for a brief discussion of existing SpaceX 
activities.
    The resource areas considered in the Draft EA include air quality; 
noise and compatible land use; land use (including U.S. Department of 
Transportation Section 4(f) Properties); biological resources (fish, 
wildlife, and plants); historical, architectural, archaeological, and 
cultural resources; hazardous materials, pollution prevention, and 
solid waste; light emissions and visual resources; natural resources 
and energy supply; water resources (surface waters and wetlands, 
groundwater, floodplains, and water quality); socioeconomics, 
environmental justice, and children's environmental health and safety; 
and secondary (induced) impacts. Potential cumulative impacts of the 
Proposed Action were also addressed in the Draft EA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Daniel Czelusniak, Environmental 
Program Lead, Office of Commercial Space Transportation, Federal 
Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 325, 
Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 267-5924; e-mail: 
[email protected].

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 20, 2011.
Glenn H. Rizner,
Deputy Manager, Space Transportation Development Division.
[FR Doc. 2011-24717 Filed 9-26-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P