Military officials are rejecting demands from a state agency to better monitor and mitigate the effects of rocket launches and sonic booms from Vandenberg Space Force Base, frustrating local officials and fueling tensions between the U.S. Space Force and the state agency charged with preserving California’s coastline.
SpaceX, a leading Space Force contractor, wants to rapidly multiply the number of rockets launched from the military base in Santa Barbara County. The company has not sought commission approval, however; instead, Space Force officials have been negotiating with the California Coastal Commission for months over a plan to allow 36 launches from the base this year — six times more than the previous agreement allowed.
As part of those discussions, the state commission asked Space Force to more closely track and document how the explosions affect the natural environment and to consider ways to reduce the damage from sonic booms. The commission cannot impose its will on the military — it can only ask that Space Force cooperate.
During Thursday’s committee meeting, what is normally a calm monthly gathering turned tense after military officials rejected the additional monitoring and restrictions and Space Force officials refused to answer questions.
The committee members were visibly irritated.
“I’m beyond pissed,” said Commissioner Susan Lowenberg. “I don’t understand why our own government is outdoing another branch of our government.”
Commissioner Kristina Kunkel said: “I hope this committee will not be pressured to ignore environmental protection.”
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The discordant meeting came two months after Space Force officials first admitted that sonic booms from rocket launches at the base regularly upset residents and wildlife along about 100 miles of coastline in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. Recent changes in rocket trajectories have made sonic booms more frequent for inland residents, and Space Force officials have said they want to significantly increase the number of rocket launches per year.
That steep rise is largely fueled by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The company is currently headquartered in Hawthorne, but Musk says those offices are destined for Texas.
A spokesperson for Vandenberg Space Force Base told The Times that the headquarters shift will not affect the number of rocket launches SpaceX plans to do from the California base. SpaceX still plans to launch more than 90 rockets from there through 2026.
On Thursday, the state commission approved the increase in launches, with new requirements for Space Force to improve wildlife surveillance on and off base and analyze the effects of sonic booms on wildlife such as southern sea otters, California red-legged frogs, western snowy plovers and California little terns.
The seven conditions the commission sought to impose included a requirement for a written plan to minimise the impact and range of sonic booms, a plan for lighting management for night launches that would limit the reach of lights on beach areas, and measures to provide beach visitors and the fishing industry with more information about launches and their impacts.
Space Force is already responsible for monitoring the effects of launches on the base’s land, but commission officials stress that the significantly increased number of rocket launches and the effects of sonic booms that have a range of more than 100 miles along the California coast represent a significant change from the base’s previous operations and require broader protections.
Read more: SpaceX plans to launch 90 rockets from Vandenberg Space Force Base by 2026. Could that harm the coast?
Several commissioners indicated that their intention was not to discourage rocket launches, but to map their possible effects on the coast.
“We don’t want to stop the missiles, we don’t want to stop their satellites, and we certainly don’t want to cause any defense problems,” Commissioner Dayna Bochco said, visibly angry. “But this is ridiculous.”
On Thursday, Vandenberg officials said they are already taking steps to protect the coast.
“Our goal is to balance our mission requirements with state regulators,” said Col. Dorian C. Hatcher, vice commander for base operations. “We protect the environment at Vandenberg. We do this and will continue to do so because we are dedicated stewards, responsible members of the community and recognize that it is not only our responsibility, but it is our obligation.”
As in previous meetings, however, Space Force officials rejected demands for additional monitoring and mitigation. That rejection, coupled with their refusal to answer questions Thursday, appeared to put the state agency on a collision course with the Defense Department.
“Space Force came here and purposely disrespected us,” Bochco said. “That’s OK. Sometimes I disrespect you too.”
But what that means for the future, and whether base officials plan to comply with the monitoring despite their previous objections, is unclear. Space Force has the authority to proceed with the rocket launches without reaching an agreement with the Coastal Commission.
As part of its mission to protect the state’s coastal resources, the commission issues or denies development permits. But the commission cannot deny a plan from the Department of Defense or another federal agency to use federal property near the coast. Instead, the commission is tasked with reaching an agreement with the federal government to mitigate issues such as beach access and potential harm to marine life.
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According to a report by committee staff, the Air Force’s position that base officials already monitor wildlife and environmental impacts is consistent with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Marine Mammal Protection requirements. But committee staff argued that previous monitoring efforts by Space Force have resulted in significant data gaps, and that the force’s reports do not include an analysis of the impacts of launches on wildlife inside and outside the base.
Aides also pointed out that the military recently admitted that sonic booms from rocket launches are occurring more frequently and affecting a much larger portion of the coast than previously believed.
Cassidy Teuffel, deputy director of the commission, said Thursday that Vandenberg’s staff opposes efforts to expand wildlife monitoring, largely because of cost concerns.
“What’s more expensive than destroying the environment and then trying to fix it?” Bochco said, before muting her microphone on Thursday. “I’m disgusted.”
The relationship between Space Force and the state commission already appeared strained when Space Force officials first approached the commission in May 2023 about increasing the number of rocket launches from the previously agreed-upon limit of six to 36.
Long before the request was filed, SpaceX had already exceeded its permitted number of rocket launches, having launched 13 times from Vandenberg in 2022.
Commission staff is also exploring the possibility of requiring SpaceX to apply for permits for commercial, non-military launches at Vandenberg, rather than requiring Space Force to apply for an agreement for all launches because the company is a government contractor.
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Only 13% to 20% of SpaceX launches were for Department of Defense activities, according to committee staff. The vast majority were instead for commercial purposes, primarily for Musk’s Starlink satellite-based broadband provider.
Vandenberg officials have argued that all of the SpaceX launches benefit the Department of Defense, not only because the Defense Department uses Starlink systems, but also because SpaceX’s ability to quickly launch more rockets into space benefits the Defense Department’s goals.
During previous commission hearings, Space Force officials also brushed aside questions about sonic booms, telling commissioners that their models had sonic booms that occurred mostly over the Channel Islands. During the commission hearings, residents began reporting sonic booms as far away as Los Angeles County.
Base officials later reported that recent changes to the missile trajectories had caused some of the sonic booms to be moved over the mainland, causing them to be heard and felt about 100 miles (160 kilometers) along the coast.
Bochco said Space Force had been “misleading” about the sonic booms and was unwilling to cooperate with the state agency.
“They don’t want to monitor it, they don’t want to figure out the consequences, because I assume they’re not going to,” she said.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.