Environmental safety expert concerned after latest Starship explosion

STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — An environmental regulatory expert is raising concerns over a lack of data on fuel used for the Starship.

Environmental Regulatory Expert Eric Roesch told ValleyCentral that SpaceX uses a fuel mixture that strays away from the space industry's standard solid fuel propellant.

SpaceX instead uses a mixture of Liquid Methane and Liquid Oxygen to launch the stacked Starship and Super Heavy into flight.

According to Roesch, last night's fuel load was significantly less than the amount needed to get the Starship off the ground, and to him, that's concerning.

With a lack of data models to see what exactly would happen if a Starship were to explode on the launch pad, Roesch says people who live nearby need to advocate for the information.

But not to worry about major damage from any blast, as the typical safety zone during a launch is enough to protect from most dangers, with the exception of particulates in the air.

"You don't want to build a fallout shelter or anything like that, but I think it's really [about] do we have informed consent and is the public aware of those risks," Roesch continued.

Roesch added that everyone who lives near Starbase, including SpaceX employees, need to ask elected officials to take action so everyone can be informed on the risks of a rocket test and launch facility in their backyard.