SpaceX’s application to scale up its rocket launch site in Texas has been put on ice by the US Army, reports say

• The Army Corps of Engineers has halted its review of SpaceX’s application for a permit to expand a Texas launch site, per Bloomberg.
• SpaceX wants to add another launch and landing pad, and build more on its facility called Starbase.
• The Army Corps said it wanted more data on the impact of rocket launches on wetlands, per Bloomberg.

The US Army Corps of Engineers told SpaceX it has halted its review of the company’s application for a permit to expand its Starbase launch facility in south Texas, Bloomberg first reported.

SpaceX wants to add a second launch and landing pad, as well as build more infrastructure on the site located in Boca Chica, Bloomberg reported.

The company is building its Starship mega-rocket, which is designed to be a fully reusable launch vehicle, at Starbase and plans to eventually launch it there following tests of the rocket prototypes at the site last year. 

However, the Army Corps told SpaceX in a letter dated March 7, which was seen by Bloomberg, that the aerospace firm had failed to provide the information that was requested for the permit.

The Army Corps said it had sought information on the impact of SpaceX’s proposed expansion on wetlands and waters, on endangered or threatened species in the area, and on historic buildings at the site, Bloomberg reported.

“Without the requested information, the permit process cannot continue,” Lynda Yezzi, public affairs chief for the Army Corps, told Bloomberg on Wednesday.

The process can resume as soon as SpaceX submits the requested information, the Army Corps said in the letter, cited by Bloomberg.

The Army Corps and SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. Bloomberg reported that SpaceX and the firm’s CEO, Elon Musk, didn’t respond to its emails about the permit process.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is also undertaking an environmental assessment of the launch site, which it expects to complete by April. SpaceX is required to have the FAA’s assessment before it can carry out orbital Starship launches from the site.

Starship will likely fly into orbit for the first time this year, Musk has previously said.