NASA Issues Environmental Impact Statement for Constellation

Jan. 30, 2008

Beth Dickey/Stephanie Schierholz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2087/4997
beth.dickey-1@xxxxxxxx, stephanie.schierholz@xxxxxxxx

Lynnette Madison
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
lynnette.b.madison@xxxxxxxx

RELEASE: 08-028

NASA ISSUES ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR CONSTELLATION

WASHINGTON - NASA issued an environmental impact statement for the
Constellation Program Jan. 10.

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 by the Ares V for transit to the moon, or future missions
to Mars.

Because the Constellation Program will be based largely upon
components and facilities used by the Space Shuttle Program, the
potential environmental impacts are expected to be similar. The
principal activities associated with Constellation that could result
in potential environmental impacts include rocket engine tests,
rocket launches, construction of new facilities and modifications to
existing facilities.

In preparing the statement, NASA published a notice of intent in the
Federal Register on Sept. 26, 2006. NASA held public scoping meetings
to invite comment on environmental concerns of program alternatives
on Oct. 18, 2006, in Cocoa, Fla., on Oct. 20, 2006, in Washington;
and on Oct. 24, 2006, in Salt Lake City. NASA also solicited comments
from federal, state, and local agencies and other interested parties.
The public scoping period ended Nov. 13, 2006. NASA also published a
draft environmental impact statement and took public comment on the
draft in August and September 2007.

Publicly identified issues resulting from the scoping meetings
include
the economic impact of the Constellation Program on local jobs near
NASA centers, risks to the public through launch and reentry of the
Orion spacecraft, noise associated with launch events and impacts to
animals in the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., area from construction and
launch activities. Other issues included the socio-economic impacts
of decommissioning the space shuttle and implementing the
Constellation Program.

The Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement contains an
appendix that lists public comments and NASA's responses. NASA
expects to provide a formal record of decision for the Constellation
Program in late spring 2008.

The impact statement is available at all NASA centers and on the Web
at:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main/peis.html

For information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/constellation/


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