Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST); Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Launch and Reentry of SpaceShipTwo Reusable Suborbital Rockets at the Mojave Air and Space Port

摘要

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Council on Environmental Quality NEPA implementing regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations parts 1500 to 1508), and FAA Order 1050.1E, Change 1, the FAA is announcing the availability of the Final EA and FONSI for the Launch and Reentry of SpaceShipTwo Reusable Suborbital Rockets at the Mojave Air and Space Port. The Final EA was prepared to analyze the potential environmental impacts of issuing experimental permits and/or launch licenses to operate SpaceShipTwo reusable suborbital rockets and WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California. Under the Proposed Action, the FAA would issue experimental permits and/or launch licenses to multiple operators for the operation of SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo at the Mojave Air and Space Port. Both WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo would be piloted during operations. The Mojave Air and Space Port comprises an area of approximately 3,000 acres in Kern County, California, and is east of the unincorporated town of Mojave. The Final EA addresses the potential environmental impacts of implementi