Despite the fact that the corporation and the Space Force assert that their rocket launches represent federal activity, the state government is not quite convinced.
The plan that SpaceX had to launch up to fifty rockets this year at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County was turned down by the California Coastal Commission last week. A complaint was filed by the company yesterday, in which it asserted that the state agency’s denial was an example of the government exceeding its jurisdiction and discriminating against the company’s President.
The aim of the Commission is to safeguard the coastlines and beaches of California, as well as the populations of wildlife that call these areas home. The agency is able to exercise control over requests made by private enterprises to use the coastline of the state, but it is unable to refuse operations that are carried out by federal departments. The request to launch the Falcon 9 rocket was actually issued by the United States Space Force on behalf of SpaceX. The request requested that the firm be granted permission to launch fifty of its rockets, which is an increase from the previous number of thirty-six.
During their consideration of the launch request, the commissioners did express some concerns regarding the political rants that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been making and the inconsistent safety records that his firms have had. However, the primary focus of the evaluation was on the partnership that exists between SpaceX and the Space Force. “because it is a customer of — and reliant on — SpaceX’s launches and satellite network, SpaceX launches are a federal agency activity,” the Commission evaluation found in the Space Force case. This is because the Space Force is dependent on SpaceX’s satellite network. “However, this does not align with how federal agency activities are defined in the Coastal Zone Management Act’s regulations or the manner in the Commission has historically implemented those regulations.” The California Coastal Commission asserted that at least eighty percent of the rockets launched by SpaceX are carrying payloads for Musk’s Starlink enterprise, rather than payloads for clients in the government and other organizations.
The lawsuit that SpaceX has filed with the court for the Central District of California is seeking an order to identify the launches as federal activity. This would remove the Commission’s oversight of SpaceX’s future launch plans.