nasa issues environmental impact

NASA Issues Environmental Impact Statement for Constellation

NASA's Constellation Program is developing a space transportation

system that is designed to return humans to the moon by 2020. The

Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement concludes that

localized and global environmental impacts associated with

implementing the program would be comparable to past or ongoing NASA

activities. The National Environmental Policy Act requires federal

agencies to prepare an environmental impact statement for major

federal actions that may significantly affect the quality of the human

environment. Federal agencies consider potential environmental impacts

of their proposed actions before deciding whether and how to proceed.

The statement examines the effects of development, testing and

operation of spacecraft and support systems associated with

Constellation Program activities through the early 2020s. NASA plans

to use multiple government and contractor facilities in implementing

the program. The program components to be developed include the Orion

crew exploration vehicle, the Ares I crew launch vehicle, the Ares V

cargo launch vehicle, the Altair lunar lander and other cargo systems.

Orion will launch atop the Ares I and be capable of docking with the

International Space Station or with cargo launched to low Earth orbit