EDITOR, The Tribune.

PLEASE permit me to share my concerns before the Space X landing. Timelines seem very short. Many environmental professional colleagues and I found out just this past week (February 13) that Elon Musk’s Falcon nine first-stage booster will be landing on a drone ship this month (February 18) with 20 more landings planned for this year. Minister Cooper presented the events as a potential booster for our tourism product. This is less than a month after SpaceX debris fell in Turks and Caicos on January 17th. They had to divert air traffic and have concerns over the potential for hazardous chemicals in the debris.

This is certainly a powerful launch pad for Bahamian tourism and investment, but is the risk properly measured? How many pounds of rocket fuel and other chemicals will enter the fishing grounds of The Exumas? Discussions surrounding the security of the mission include keeping people out of a 10 to 20 mile swath of ocean. Is five days enough time for fishermen, tour operators, ferries, and aircraft to rearrange their paths and plans? In the event of a disaster, where does the help come from?

As we consider tourism benefits, have we considered the disaster tourism potential for visiting scientists studying the impacts of space waste on our oldest marine and terrestrial national park in the country and possibly the world? Considering SpaceX’s gross earnings on a US launch according to SpaceInsider are around 30 million dollars, is a one million dollar donation an appropriate market value? Who foots the bill for the RBDF mobilisation and is there a restoration clause in the Environmental Assessment? The Department of Environmental Planning and Protection page is back, but the EIA is not there. It seems we may be handing over the Cays without really knowing the driver.

ANCILLENO DAVIS, PHD

Nassau,

February 16 2025.