BOCA CHICA, TX – SEPTEMBER 28: A gated entrance by a prototype of SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft is seen at the company’s Texas launch facility on September 28, 2019 in Boca Chica near Brownsville, Texas. The Starship spacecraft is a massive vehicle meant to take people to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. (Photo by Loren Elliott/Getty Images)Loren Elliott | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesSpaceX ran a “full-pressure test” of a new “flame deflector” system at its Starship Super Heavy launch site in South Texas on Friday. However, CNBC has learned that the company never applied for the environmental permits that would allow it to discharge industrial process wastewater into the area surrounding the launchpad as normally required by the federal Clean Water Act.The flame deflector, or water deluge system, is meant to diffuse heat, sound and energy generated by orbital test flights and lau …
