The California Coastal Commission, which manages activity everywhere the state meets the sea, has unanimously rejected the U.S. Space Force’s request to double the number of rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base, from 50 to 100. The commission is concerned about the impacts that many sonic booms will have on both the local wildlife and neighborhoods in Santa Barbara County. As a result of its application being rejected, the Space Force will likely have to… well, just do it anyway. Which is what it did the last time this happened.
Just a few years ago, Vandenberg only played host to 4-6 launches every year, few enough that any environmental or residential risks from sonic booms was considered minor. That has changed a lot in a very short time: in 2024, it launched fully 51 rockets, making it the second-busiest spaceport in the world. As China ramps up its space and anti-satellite capabilities, America is trying to beef up its own orbital presence. In addition, private companies are putting more and more tonnage into space, most notably SpaceX with its Starlink constellation of small satellites in low-earth orbit. Many other corporations want to start putting up their own constellations, not to mention the U.S. military itself.
Getting all of that into orbit requires a lot of launches, way more than the old annual average. That also means way more sonic booms. Southern California is home to the Western snowy plover, for example, a threatened species that might be put at further risk. It also means that certain beaches need to be evacuated of humans during each launch; as the number ramps up, those beaches might just get effectively closed off. These are the exact issues that led the commission to deny an increase of 36 to 50 launches last year, as Politico reports. Except, as noted above, the Space Force did launch 50 rockets last year; actually, it launched 51. Oops.
Commercial Enterprise Vs The Environment, Ad Astra
Last year, the Space Force did at least promise to adhere to the commission’s seven conditions for monitoring and preserving the health of the coastline. This time around, the Space Force has promised nothing, as it did not even show up for the commission’s hearings, per a separate Politico report…