SpaceX wants to almost double the number of rocket launches from the California coast into space with around 100 plans per year from the Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The plan almost doubles the current timetable for the company of 50 rockets a year, despite clashing with the California Coastal Commission over concerns about the impact of the blast on coastal wildlife, and nearby residents reported an astonishing sonic boom that was already spiked and fired.
In early 2024, SpaceX and the US Air Force Department agreed with the California Coastal Commission to launch six rockets into space per year. However, the Air Force and SpaceX have moved rapidly to dramatically increase the number of rocket launches from the Vandenberg Space Force in Santa Barbara County, asking the committee to agree to 36, 50, and now 95 rocket explosions.
A SpaceX spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The California Coastal Commission is a state agency tasked with protecting the state’s 1,100-mile coastal areas.
The fast rise of rockets off the California coast led to a space exploration company owned by billionaire Elon Musk in a direct conflict with the California Coast Commission. Members of the California Coastal Commission have expressed concern about the impact of the launch, the lack of oversight, and whether privately owned businesses are federal contractors, circumventing the permitting process despite the majority of our attacks.
In October, the Coastal Commission rejected plans for SpaceX to launch up to 50 times a year. Just a few days later, SpaceX sued the committee and responded by accusing the agency of “deferring its authority to a grossly illegally and excessively.”
The conflict sparked political tone.
At a meeting in October, the committee members cited concerns that Musk had inserted himself into the presidential race, spreading conspiracy theory on social media, and facing serious allegations that employees at his company were being abused.
The commissioner also pointed to reports that Musk’s company Starlink refused to allow satellite internet services to help Ukraine launch an attack on Russia in 2022, questioning whether Musk’s decision was not in direct conflict with the decision of its US allies.
In a lawsuit against the committee still pending in federal court, SpaceX’s lawyers accused the committee of voting against the plan because of Musk’s political views.
Cooperation between the state commission and the Air Force Department also appears to have barely reached agreement or communication between the two agencies after the October meeting.
At an October meeting when the committee rejected plans for 50 launches, base officials said they wanted to work with the committee to address seven conditions requested by the US Space Force.
However, staff reports show that communication from the base has been limited since then about these goals.
However, the legal battle with the committee and differences have little effect on SpaceX and the US Space Force’s plan to increase the number of rocket explosions so far in the Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Last year, the Vandenberg Space Force Base was a site for 51 rocket launches, of which 46 were being carried out by Musk’s SpaceX, according to a base spokesperson.
As of the first week of August, the base has so far been home to 38 rocket launches, of which 33 have been carried out by SpaceX.
The Air Force’s plans for further launches to the committee will also double the number of landing events at military bases. It has also been reported that it will produce its own Sonic Boom Blast. According to a staff report, the base expects 24 SpaceX Rocket Landing events per year at Vandenberg. This includes 12 first-stage booster landings and five Falcon Heavy Missions where two boosters land simultaneously.
SpaceX is also planning up to 76 ocean landings off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. The company then transports the equipment to the port of Long Beach and moves it to its base at the port of Vandenberg.
On Thursday, the California Coastal Commission is scheduled to consider a plan for SpaceX, which launches 95 rockets a year, but military officials are expected to move forward with the plan despite the panel’s decision.
Military officials argue that SpaceX launches should be considered federal activities, as all of the launches benefit the US military targets, even for the private interests of Starlink, the mask company.
An earlier staff report from the committee said 87% of SpaceX launches from Vandenberg did not carry government equipment or missions, but carried equipment for Starlink.
If the launch is considered federal activity, Space Force personnel are not legally bound to obtain a permit or permit from the Coastal Commission. Instead, they can reach an agreement to mitigate the impact of the explosion, but they can move forward regardless of whether an agreement is reached or not.
Military officials argue that launches from the base will benefit the state’s preparations.
“The Vandenburg Space Force Base plays a key role in strengthening America’s national security by leveraging the power of commercial innovation,” Colonel James T. Horn III, commander of the Space Release Delta 30, said in a statement. “The commercial sector is driving advances that are once dedicated to government programs, such as low-earth orbit communication systems that directly support the Department of Defense. U.S. launch providers continue to offer agile, service-based solutions that operate at the “speed of needs.” ”
Coastal Commission staff is expected to raise concerns again about doubling rocket launches from bases. Military officials and SpaceX claim they have not provided sufficient information on wildlife impacts and are not expected to provide sufficient surveillance to measure the impact and reach of the Sonic Boom.
“Based on existing information, the proposed SpaceX launch activity appears to be a federal agency activity,” reads the report to the committee. “In fact, existing available information indicates that the main purpose of the proposed launch cadence is to further expand and support SpaceX’s commercial satellite internet and communications network Starlink.”
Despite the pending lawsuit, Coastal Commission staff continue to argue that in a report launched by SpaceX it should be regulated as a private company.
“The simple fact remains that it is a privately owned company engaged in activities primarily for its own commercial business,” the report reads. “It’s not a public federal agency and it’s not launching its launch on behalf of the federal government, so it needs to be regulated accordingly.”
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