(Credit: PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
A California commission rejected a request to conduct more Starlink satellite launches at a local base, partly because of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s conduct.
As Politico reports, the California Coastal Commission voted 6-4 on Thursday to deny a proposal to let SpaceX increase Falcon 9 launches from 36 to 50 for the rest of this year.
The commission oversees such proposals because rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base can cause sonic booms and release debris, creating environmental impacts such as disturbing local wildlife. But during Thursday’s hearing, the commissioners also expressed concerns with Musk’s activities in recent years, including his controversial tweets.
“Right now, Elon Musk is hopping about the country, spewing and tweeting political falsehoods and attacking FEMA while claiming his desire to help the hurricane victims with free Starlink access to the internet,” said Commissioner Gretchen Newsom (no relation to California Governor Gavin Newsom).
She then criticized SpaceX for offering Starlink access as a "sick ploy to gain customers that are facing tremendous burden and dire straits" since it requires hurricane victims to spend $349 on Starlink hardware in order to receive only a month of free internet access.
In her opposition, Newsom also cited a Reuters report about 600 unreported workplace injuries at SpaceX as another cause for concern, along with Musk's plan to move the company's headquarters to Texas despite receiving subsidies from California.
Others, such as Commissioner Justin Cummings, voted in favor of the proposal but still had reservations about SpaceX potentially acting against US interests. Specifically, Cummings alluded to how Musk denied a Ukrainian military request to activate Starlink to facilitate an attack on Russian forces.
“You all, and we are trying to operate in an apolitical space. The person who controls these companies has enough power to not work in the best interest—when they feel like it—of our allies,” Cummings said.
The denial could delay future Starlink launches from Vandenberg, which is on the coast near Santa Barbara. However, during the meeting, it was noted that the US military could override the vote, forcing the California commission to pursue mediation or a lawsuit. The commission also noted that SpaceX seeks to increase Falcon 9 launches to 100 in 2025.
(Credit: California Coastal Commission)More launches will help SpaceX further expand Starlink, according to a commission document. But surprisingly, the proposal didn’t come from SpaceX directly. Instead, the request came from the US Air Force and Space Force. The military wants to clear the flights because SpaceX has become a major provider of US government space missions. This includes developing Starshield, a satellite internet system for national security purposes that taps Starlink technology.
Not all the commissioners were convinced that the US military should be advocating for SpaceX since only a minority of the launches will contain US government payloads. “I do believe that the Space Force has failed to establish that SpaceX is a part of the federal government, part of our defense,” Commissioner Dayna Bochco said in voting to deny the proposal.
Some commissioners also took issue with SpaceX's decision not to send a representative to the meeting; instead, a company executive only shared a statement over a Zoom call during the hearing. "With Starlink, SpaceX has deployed a global broadband network that supports critical communications for the Department of Defense and numerous federal, state, and local agencies," SpaceX Senior Director of Government Affairs Mat Dunn said. (This now includes providing emergency satellite internet access to phones in hurricane-ravaged areas.)
In the meantime, the company's Falcon 9 launches have been temporarily grounded, pending an FAA investigation into a malfunction that occurred with a flight last month.