Judge Lets SpaceX Continue Use of ‘Deluge’ System at Launch Site

An environmental group’s motion for a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order against SpaceX for wastewater discharges at a Texas rocket launch site was denied Thursday.

Save RGV, a group dedicated to protecting the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, asked a judge to enjoin SpaceX from using a cooling system that the company installed to prevent a launch pad explosion, called a “deluge” system in the lawsuit, until it gets a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit under the Clean Water Act.

The deluge system has polluted surrounding wetlands at least 13 times without a permit, violating the Clean ...