California rejects bid for more frequent SpaceX launches

A California state commission has rejected the U.S. Space Force’s bid to increase the number of SpaceX rocket launches on the state’s central coast, citing concerns about the environmental impacts of the launches.

The Space Force had sought to increase the number of launches of SpaceX’s flagship Falcon 9 rocket from 36 to 50 per year out of California. But on Thursday, the California Coastal Commission denied the bid in a 6-4 vote, pointing to its previous requests for the military and SpaceX to mitigate the disruptive sonic booms caused by the rockets and to keep a closer eye on the operations’ effects on the state’s wildlife.

The commission also rejected the military and SpaceX’s argument that the launches should be considered a federal activity, saying they mostly benefit SpaceX and its private business operations, as opposed to the government.

The move came just a couple of months after the commission had approved increasing the number of SpaceX launches to 36, contingent on the military’s commitment to adopting such measures. The board, which is tasked with protecting the state’s coastal resources, previously expressed its reservation for approving more launches without understanding the effects of the sonic booms and launch debris on wildlife.

SpaceX, which is owned by Elon Musk, has grown to dominate the space launch business, serving as the primary provider to both NASA and the Pentagon. It has blasted its own commercial satellites into space out of bases across the country at a rapid clip, and it is set to test its new Starship rocket Sunday in Texas. In California, SpaceX carries out many of its missions at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, sometimes for the Space Force.

But the sonic booms have been startling residents in Southern California, whose homes have been shaken by powerful, confusing jolts, The Los Angeles Times reported. And several environmental groups submitted letters urging the commission to take more time to study the impact on wildlife before this past week’s meeting.

On Thursday, some members were encouraged by the military’s willingness to work with local agencies to address the environmental concerns.

But the commission took issue with the assertion by the Space Force and SpaceX officials that the operations should be considered a “federal agency activity,” a designation that would exempt the company from obtaining a permit to conduct its launches.

Military officials had made that case by noting that SpaceX and its satellite system, Starlink, provide “communications services important to the national defense and in support of U.S. interests abroad.”

SpaceX also said its rockets were critical to the Space Force’s mission.

“Falcon 9 is the most reliable, reusable, economical rocket ever created, and is the workhorse of the national space program,” the company said in a letter.

But the commission disagreed, saying the launches would mostly serve to expand SpaceX’s Starlink network, rather than to support the government.

“I appreciate that there is an element of the federal government here, but this is primarily about private company activities,” said Caryl Hart, the commission chair.

Some commissioners also shared concerns about Musk. Commissioner Gretchen Newsom, who is not related to Gov. Gavin Newsom, criticized Musk’s recent comments on the federal government’s hurricane response and painted him as a profiteer hungry for government support while maintaining a poor record of labor and safety violations at his space company.

SpaceX and the Space Force did not respond to requests for comment Saturday.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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