The New Era of Musk's Space
President-elect Donald Trump’s aggressive policies are changing the climate of politics, and the public - both nationally and internationally - is reading the tea leaves on his plans. One change we are certain of is the expanded role and power of an individual in the U.S. government, specifically space affairs. It is undeniable that space travel pioneer and mogul Elon Musk, who has a long-standing relationship with the president-elect, will make impacts on the interest towards exploring beyond our planet. Recently, Musk and Trump watched the new rocket “Starship” take off in Texas, indicating a new era of space travel for the nation.
Such an amicable alliance with the government will offer Musk’s company SpaceX power that no other space-devoted company ever had in history. Musk’s ambitious endeavor to explore space has long been demonstrated. He has planned a multitude of flights to Mars, regardless of “what happens with landing success, increasing the number of spaceships traveling to Mars with every opportunity,” as Musk posted on X. His numerous plans, however, have been shot down and delayed for years as the result of regular arguments with environmental regulators and the Federal Aviation Administration; in addition, his hostile relationship with the Democratic party, which he criticizes as a “stifling red tape” for the progression of his massive projects.
With the upcoming Trump administration’s support, Musk is about to rejoice his freedom to execute his plans. As exciting as the idea of advanced space exploration sounds, Musk’s expanded role in the government now raises ethical concerns for many around the world; his plans to explore our neighboring planets and systems are too ambitious and are likely to raise more problems than answer them.
One common idea that seems to revolve around the GOP’s politics this year seems to be a decrease in environmental policies in favor of the economy. Musk’s increased launches aligns with these ideals, as an increase in these launch sites may cause devastating damage in Texas. SpaceX’s launch sites discharge tens of thousands of wastewater into the surrounding environment and wetlands in the area with every launch, alongside scorching hundreds of acres of lands and sending flying debris across the environment, already prompting massive amounts of fines from local government and environmental protection acts. While SpaceX promotes their reusable rockets, their carbon intensive practices release 76,000 metric tons of CO2 per launch compared to Nasa’s 300 metric tons per launch, intensifying the greenhouse gas effects and raising the average temperatures globally, causing climate disaster. The Trump administration will likely amplify the negative environmental consequences triggered by socially and environmentally irresponsible decisions made by SpaceX.
And this issue is not just restricted to Texas. The effect of SpaceX’s launches will be felt in adjacent states. While other space agencies such as NASA have devoted time and money into finding ways to get to space while decreasing their effects on the environment, SpaceX’s indifference to the environment and their constant push for exploring will have immeasurable consequences on our atmosphere.
