SpaceX Debris Sparks Environmental Concerns & Corporate Responsibility Debate
This post highlights a negative environmental consequence of advanced technology (SpaceX rockets) on a sensitive ecosystem. This creates significant opportunities for environmental advocacy groups to raise awareness and funding, or for companies offering sustainable waste management and space debris mitigation solutions. It also signals a need for enhanced PR and sustainability communication for space companies.
Origin Reddit Post
r/technology
SpaceX Rocket Debris Is Polluting a Turtle Nesting Beach in Mexico
Posted by u/AmethystOrator•08/03/2025
Top Comments
u/Noflyinjett
The first tour sold out and they had to add more dates and extend it. Nothing about these comments is going well for you honestly.
u/aquarain
You can't win them all.
u/atomic1fire
How much of this was predictable and intentional and how much was just a side effect of launching a lot of things into space and not always being able to reuse key parts.
I mean I doubt Elon
u/Dismal_Guidance_2539
No dumb ass. They not using jet fuel. They use rocket fuel (liquid methane (CH4) and liquid oxygen (LOX) for Raptor engines in this case which their primary exhaust products are water vapor a
u/woliphirl
Man, the internet isn't even funny anymore, it just sucks
u/Muddled_Opinions
Elon will probably say "this region has so any turtle nests" just like when he was asked about the insane water usage by his Tesla Plant in 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye8zcgxWMDc
u/djpoundkey
I can hear the planet healing itself over the sound of burning jet fuel. Thanks SpaceX, your saving the planet!
u/KillerKowalski1
"It's OK because I made money"
- Everything wrong with the world
u/Fuzzy-Mud-197
Yeah but the point is that it is supposed to be fully reusable
u/djpoundkey
I can hear the planet healing itself over the sound of burning jet fuel. Thanks SpaceX, your saving the planet!
u/aquarain
It's ok to drop Starship parts on my house because I would make money, yes.
If I lived in the area I would probably be relieving the turtles of their obstacle course to make money. Which al
u/schillerstone
Elon is a scourge!
u/l4mbch0ps
Whoa whoa, suggesting that Elon is not actually evil is definitely not allowed here.
u/Left_on_Pause
I’d also add that musk can afford to clean up his mess. Mexico can probably to, but musk is a certainty.
u/Dismal_Guidance_2539
This is just stupid take. SpaceX head for fully reusable. That much better for environment than any other launch system that dump all the components into ocean.
In fact, they already better
u/illuminatedtiger
Reusable my ass.
u/aquarain
I would be rich selling Starship keychains and belt knives.
u/Left_on_Pause
I’d also add that musk can afford to clean up his mess. Mexico can probably to, but musk is a certainty.
u/Immediate_Watch_2427
Fuck Elon musk
u/Fuzzy-Mud-197
Yeah but the point is that it is supposed to be fully reusable
u/valhatesthisapp
Damn. That sentence changed my life.
u/piratecheese13
For a dozen
[The written re-eval 2022](https://www.faa.gov/media/72816https://www.faa.gov/media/72816)
This goes over all the ecological impacts, but the part I was referring to is on page
u/aquarain
Creed fan?
u/Noflyinjett
The first tour sold out and they had to add more dates and extend it. Nothing about these comments is going well for you honestly.
u/nativerestorations1
Texas turtles aren’t the only non human victims. Let’s not forget what’s planned for the highly diverse population of turtles, birds, plants and insects that populate the Merritt Island sanct
u/aquarain
I would be rich selling Starship keychains and belt knives.
u/ACCount82
The "rocket debris" are stainless steel. It's not an actual problem - it's just a bunch of deranged "environmentalists" looking for clickbait.
But, of course, r*dditors are going to lap this
u/piratecheese13
The EIS, Environmental Impact Statement done by fish and wildlife essentially noted that starship debris is hardly impactful when compared with the space shuttle even on perfect launches. Tho
u/ACCount82
The "rocket debris" are stainless steel. It's not an actual problem - it's just a bunch of deranged "environmentalists" looking for clickbait.
But, of course, r*dditors are going to lap this
u/rkndit
Elon: well we don’t need turtles for Mars
u/cultureicon
We're going to be multiplanetary! And be able to doom scroll from a mountaintop with satellite internet! Fuck turtles.
u/piratecheese13
Big spacex fan here, been to starbase twice. Have done beach cleanups with LabPadre
COPVs, carbon over wrap pressure vessels are carbon fiber and can fuck your lungs up if they break.
u/aquarain
I would be rich selling Starship keychains and belt knives.
u/JakesPupParent
They should force him to make his rockets out of cardboard.
Until this happens, we should demand our straws back!
u/Formal-Hawk9274
Billionaires hate the world around them
u/piratecheese13
The EIS, Environmental Impact Statement done by fish and wildlife essentially noted that starship debris is hardly impactful when compared with the space shuttle even on perfect launches. Tho
u/Kurt805
Meh. My beach is polluted by Mexican sewage. I'd say that's a bigger problem.
u/Corona-walrus
The opposite of love isn't hate -
It's indifference.
u/Dismal_Guidance_2539
No dumb ass. They not using jet fuel. They use rocket fuel (liquid methane (CH4) and liquid oxygen (LOX) for Raptor engines in this case which their primary exhaust products are water vapor a
u/jj4379
With your logic u/aquarain youre saying its okay to just keep polluting environments due to the animals having lived and survived for so long, meaning we keep doing it until we find their tip
u/l4mbch0ps
Whoa whoa, suggesting that Elon is not actually evil is definitely not allowed here.
u/woliphirl
Man, the internet isn't even funny anymore, it just sucks
u/aquarain
The origin of Sea Turtles was 150 million years ago. They outlived the dinosaurs, the Earth being slagged, the oceans acidified, a Creed reunion, a thousand year night and Snowball Earth twic
u/josefx
> is hardly impactful when compared with the space shuttle even on perfect launches.
Is that for a single launch or several dozen? From what I understand SpaceX doesn't exactly hold up a
u/Corona-walrus
The opposite of love isn't hate -
It's indifference.
u/Odd-Resource-8193
Imagine telling the turtles, ”Sorry, this is progress“. We really do ruin everything, huh?
u/coconutpiecrust
Surely no one can hate those freeloading turtles more than Elon and his employees.
u/Anxious-Depth-7983
So, as usual, someone else has to clean up after Muskmelonhead, and the surrounding environment gets the consequences as well as the most endangered sea turtle in the world. I guess those rap
u/the_catalyst_alpha
Mexico? You mean that place that doesn’t even have its own gulf named after it? Lol, for real though, Mexico should sue for cleanup.
u/aquarain
Creed fan?
u/Formal-Hawk9274
Billionaires hate the world around them
u/aquarain
It was really more of a Creed Sux joke but I guess nobody remembers them.
It's not going well.
u/rkndit
Elon: well we don’t need turtles for Mars
u/aquarain
I'm thinking Deepwater Horizon was on us. Also San Diego is on a whole other ocean.
u/woliphirl
Man, the internet isn't even funny anymore, it just sucks
u/JakesPupParent
They should force him to make his rockets out of cardboard.
Until this happens, we should demand our straws back!
u/nativerestorations1
Texas turtles aren’t the only non human victims. Let’s not forget what’s planned for the highly diverse population of turtles, birds, plants and insects that populate the Merritt Island sanct
u/Kurt805
Meh. My beach is polluted by Mexican sewage. I'd say that's a bigger problem.
u/Anxious-Depth-7983
So, as usual, someone else has to clean up after Muskmelonhead, and the surrounding environment gets the consequences as well as the most endangered sea turtle in the world. I guess those rap
u/aquarain
The origin of Sea Turtles was 150 million years ago. They outlived the dinosaurs, the Earth being slagged, the oceans acidified, a Creed reunion, a thousand year night and Snowball Earth twic
u/atomic1fire
How much of this was predictable and intentional and how much was just a side effect of launching a lot of things into space and not always being able to reuse key parts.
I mean I doubt Elon
u/Unlucky-Meaning-4956
Hopefully there’s a tariff on those turtles
u/cultureicon
We're going to be multiplanetary! And be able to doom scroll from a mountaintop with satellite internet! Fuck turtles.
u/meninblck9
Those turtles need to get a job or go back to their country. No more free rides.
u/jj4379
With your logic u/aquarain youre saying its okay to just keep polluting environments due to the animals having lived and survived for so long, meaning we keep doing it until we find their tip
u/coconutpiecrust
Surely no one can hate those freeloading turtles more than Elon and his employees.
u/Unlucky-Meaning-4956
Hopefully there’s a tariff on those turtles
u/aquarain
The origin of Sea Turtles was 150 million years ago. They outlived the dinosaurs, the Earth being slagged, the oceans acidified, a Creed reunion, a thousand year night and Snowball Earth twic
u/aquarain
You can't win them all.
u/Dismal_Guidance_2539
This is just stupid take. SpaceX head for fully reusable. That much better for environment than any other launch system that dump all the components into ocean.
In fact, they already better
u/OldAgedZenElf
How about they dump all that shit on your house. You deal with it.
u/valhatesthisapp
Damn. That sentence changed my life.
u/aquarain
It's ok to drop Starship parts on my house because I would make money, yes.
If I lived in the area I would probably be relieving the turtles of their obstacle course to make money. Which al
u/Mammoth_Professor833
And Mexico is dumping heaps of raw sewage into San Diego…Mexico has a pretty spotty record on the environment and especially the Gulf of Mexico so hard to feel sorry for them
u/OldAgedZenElf
How about they dump all that shit on your house. You deal with it.
u/Odd-Resource-8193
Imagine telling the turtles, ”Sorry, this is progress“. We really do ruin everything, huh?
u/Immediate_Watch_2427
Fuck Elon musk
u/meninblck9
Those turtles need to get a job or go back to their country. No more free rides.
u/KillerKowalski1
"It's OK because I made money"
- Everything wrong with the world
u/jcunews1
Though, we're also freeloading - from Earth's perspective.
u/Mammoth_Professor833
And Mexico is dumping heaps of raw sewage into San Diego…Mexico has a pretty spotty record on the environment and especially the Gulf of Mexico so hard to feel sorry for them
u/Muddled_Opinions
Elon will probably say "this region has so any turtle nests" just like when he was asked about the insane water usage by his Tesla Plant in 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye8zcgxWMDc
u/aquarain
I'm thinking Deepwater Horizon was on us. Also San Diego is on a whole other ocean.
u/aquarain
It was really more of a Creed Sux joke but I guess nobody remembers them.
It's not going well.
u/piratecheese13
For a dozen
[The written re-eval 2022](https://www.faa.gov/media/72816https://www.faa.gov/media/72816)
This goes over all the ecological impacts, but the part I was referring to is on page
u/coconutpiecrust
Surely no one can hate those freeloading turtles more than Elon and his employees.
u/aquarain
Creed fan?
u/schillerstone
Elon is a scourge!
u/piratecheese13
Big spacex fan here, been to starbase twice. Have done beach cleanups with LabPadre
COPVs, carbon over wrap pressure vessels are carbon fiber and can fuck your lungs up if they break.
u/illuminatedtiger
Reusable my ass.
u/josefx
> is hardly impactful when compared with the space shuttle even on perfect launches.
Is that for a single launch or several dozen? From what I understand SpaceX doesn't exactly hold up a
u/OldAgedZenElf
How about they dump all that shit on your house. You deal with it.
u/7952
Shame we can't trick them i to thinking a tent in the Nevada desert is Mars. And then have some kind of AI internet that pretends to be real. So they can tweet to their hearts content and n
u/jcunews1
Though, we're also freeloading - from Earth's perspective.
u/7952
Shame we can't trick them i to thinking a tent in the Nevada desert is Mars. And then have some kind of AI internet that pretends to be real. So they can tweet to their hearts content and n