SpaceX plans to launch 90 rockets into space from a Santa Barbara County military base by 2026, tripling the number of explosions that rock coastal communities and raising concerns from neighbors and environmental groups about the effects on marine life.
SpaceX, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has increased the number of rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in recent years and has made clear its desire to increase the frequency of explosions. But at a California Coastal Commission hearing on Friday, U.S. Space Force officials announced plans for the first time to increase the number of top launches from 37 in 2023 to more than 120 a year by 2026.
The vast majority of these rocket explosions will be carried out by SpaceX, which has already completed more launches from the base than the commission has approved.
Last year, SpaceX sent 28 rockets into space, violating an agreement with the commission that limited the number of launches to six. Currently, an agreement is expected to be made with the commission for 36 launches per year and for this number to increase to 90 in 2026.
The decision by the commission charged with protecting the state’s coastal resources will directly impact marine life and residents near the military base who hear and feel the rockets’ sonic booms. It could also redirect the future of SpaceX, whose push to redefine space exploration is already closely tied to U.S. military interests, given its work as a military contractor.
“The ultimate goal is for this to be more routine and not a big deal,” said Space Force Col. Bryan Titus, the base’s deputy operations commander.
Read more: SpaceX is launching more rockets from a military base. Can the Coastal Commission impose limits?
Titus said the US Space Force, established in 2019, wants to improve its ability to send rockets into space, so SpaceX’s ability to launch more frequently is a benefit to the US military.
SpaceX launched 96 rockets in 2023 from Vandenberg and three other facilities: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, NASA’s Merritt Island, Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas.
Environmental groups argue that turning launches into a routine event could impact marine life.
“We are concerned that more frequent launches will lead to permanent changes,” said Ana Citrin, legal and policy director for the Gaviota Coastal Reserve.
Federal agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, are monitoring the impact of eruptions on animals such as sea otters, bats, western snowy plovers, California least terns and California red-legged frogs.
Observations so far have shown that some animals may react to the explosion by blushing or running away from their burrows and homes, but return soon after, according to U.S. Space Force officials. They said no long-term effects were seen.
SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.
Read more: Boeing faces critical launch that will carry astronauts to the International Space Station on Monday
Blushing or crouching after an explosion are already signs that wildlife is showing signs of stress, said Duncan Leitch, a professor of integrative biology at UCLA.
Most animals can adapt to rare events, but exposure to more frequent stressful events can change their biology as well as their behavior, he said.
In a worst-case scenario, the birds’ ability to communicate could be hampered and migratory birds could stay away from the area, he said. Fish and other animals that use sound to communicate and navigate underwater, including whales, may also be affected.
“Over a longer period of time, as fish move further away from the sound, their population may decline or they may become affected enough to affect their health,” Leitch said. “This will change the ecosystem as much as other animals that depend on fish.”
“Having sounds in the decibel range that are currently occurring that are damaging or painful [a hundred] “Several times a year, animals may not have the ability to change their behavior or adapt to such sounds,” he said.
Some environmental groups, including the Surfrider Foundation, are asking the commission to prevent the increase.
Read more: SpaceX rocket launch sends advanced satellite into low orbit, brings booster back to Earth
“SpaceX plans to start growing very quickly, so we’re very concerned about that,” said Mandy Sachett, California senior policy coordinator for the Surfrider Foundation.
Environmental groups said more frequent eruptions could change the way wildlife in the area respond in the long term.
Members of the California Coastal Commission are also asking whether SpaceX has the right to bypass the permitting process like federal agencies do. Federal agencies negotiate agreements with the commission, but ultimately they can move forward even if the commission doesn’t approve them. In such cases, the commission’s recourse will be through mediation or court.
Because SpaceX acts as a contractor for the U.S. Space Force, military officials maintain that all of the company’s launch operations at the base are “federal activities.”
But only 25% of rockets launched into space by SpaceX carry payloads for the Department of Defense, U.S. Space Force officials said. The fact that the vast majority of explosions are for the company’s private benefit raises questions about why SpaceX can waive permits when 75% of its base explosions do not concern the US government.
“That’s still a pretty skewed number to me,” Commissioner Mike Wilson said at Friday’s meeting.
Some commissioners, who usually focus on environmental protection, development and water issues in their monthly meetings, also brought up the war in Ukraine during Friday’s discussion.
“I question the public interest in terms of national security of concentrating so much power, literally communications power, that we have provided in this case in a single company,” Wilson said. “[SpaceX] “He has already shown that he will play with the will of a single person in international conflicts.”
Read more: See that weird streak of light in Southern California? Rocket
Wilson was referring to reports that Musk’s company did not allow Ukraine to use the satellite internet service of Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, to help Ukraine launch an attack against Russia in September 2022.
“If the idea is that we support these permits in addition to promoting national defense, and then a single company can tear apart our allies during armed conflict, that’s really not compatible,” Commissioner Justin Cummings said. . “I suspect this would violate our national defense strategies.”
Titus declined to answer the question, saying it was “out of my style” but said he would try to get answers that would address commissioners’ concerns.
Some commissioners on Friday also argued that SpaceX, not U.S. military officials, should make the company’s case before the agency.
“When this comes back, I think it will be really important to have a representative from SpaceX come to the meeting,” Cummings said.
Cummings said it was “ridiculous” that SpaceX did not attend the meeting, despite multiple efforts by the agency to get SpaceX officials to speak.
“Obviously they deny it because they never showed up,” he said.
On Friday, Commission President Caryl Hart suggested a deal may not be possible unless SpaceX changes its stance.
“From my perspective, I think we would continue to face significant hurdles in getting a federal consistency decision without SpaceX,” Hart said.
Sign up for Essential California to get news, features and recommendations from the LA Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
This story was first published in the Los Angeles Times.