Monday, June 23, 2025
By JADE RUSSELL
Tribune Staff Reporter
THE government has received SpaceX’s post-launch report following its historic Falcon 9 booster landing in Bahamian waters earlier this year, with officials saying the operation caused no significant environmental harm.
Dr Rhianna Neely, director of the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP), said her department is also reviewing a first draft of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) required for any future landings. The post-launch report is expected to be made public within the coming week.
The documents follow Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper’s April announcement that SpaceX would not be permitted to carry out further landings in The Bahamas until a full EIA was completed and a post-launch assessment submitted.
While the Environmental Baseline Statement (EBS) released earlier this year by local consultancy BRON predicted only minimal disruption to marine life, environmentalists argued that a comprehensive EIA was still necessary.
Dr Neely said the post-launch report has reinforced earlier findings.
“This is what was communicated with the general public prior to the reentry exercise,” she said. “That based on the documents that were provided to the department, it was not likely that there would be any negative short-term or long-term impacts to the environment, so the post-launch report essentially confirms, verifies what was said before the reentry exercise.”
Despite the favourable outcome, she acknowledged that officials found gaps in how the assessment was conducted and in the length of time it covered. These shortcomings, she added, will be addressed in future evaluations.
Dr Neely declined to draw early conclusions about the draft EIA, noting that her department had only just received it.
SpaceX has said it hopes to complete the EIA by the end of summer and resume booster landings soon after. Speaking at an April press conference in Nassau, SpaceX vice president of launch Kiko Dontchev said the company had taken concerns from environmental groups into account as part of its review process.
On February 18, The Bahamas became the first location outside the United States to host a successful Falcon 9 booster landing. The rocket, launched from Cape Canaveral, touched down on the drone ship Just Read The Instructions stationed in the Exuma Sound.
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