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McALLEN — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit this week claiming that the Federal Aviation Administration did not properly assess the environmental impacts of the SpaceX rocket launch program in South Texas.

The claims were brought by environmental groups including the Center for Biological Diversity, American Bird Conservancy and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas. The lawsuit accused the FAA of not conducting a thorough environmental impact assessment before authorizing a test launch that took place at the small coastal community of Boca Chica, now the location of the city of Starbase, in April 2023. The launch ended in the explosion of SpaceX's 400-foot ta

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