Arab News Japan

TOKYO: American environmentalists told a press conference in Tokyo that Elon Musk’s SpaceX program poses a threat after he deliberately exploded a rocket near gas facilities.

“(Elon Musk) is using our low-income, brown and indigenous community as a testing site to attempt to launch the largest rocket in human history that would supposedly take people to Mars,” Rebekah Hinojosa of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network told a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.

“This past November, Elon Musk blew up a rocket and it caused an earthquake. That was the first time I’d ever felt an earthquake in my entire life, and it was because of a billionaire who caused an earthquake that was felt over 32 km away. It shook my apartment.”

Hinojosa pointed out that SpaceX’s facilities are just 6 km away from LNG sites and gas-carrying tankers, and SpaceX exploding rockets in that area is a huge risk.

“Debris from the rocket ship fell on the site,” Hinojosa said. “We know it’s an issue. We have made it clear to regulatory agencies that they need to investigate, that they need to do a risk analysis, and they haven’t responded to those requests.”

Hinojosa says environmental groups and local communities have created joint opposition to dangers that threaten the area. They say there is a threat to the way of life of small communities, which depend on industries such as shrimping and fishing.