SpaceX Sues California Coastal Commission Over Launch Restrictions at Vandenberg
- by Edhat
- Oct 17, 2024
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October 17, 2024, 9:02 am
36 SpaceX hangar at Vandenberg Space Force Base near Lompoc in 2016 (Photo: Steve Jurvetson / wikipedia)
In a bold legal move, SpaceX has initiated a lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission, challenging the commission’s recent denial to expand Falcon 9 rocket launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The action, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, accuses the commission of engaging in political discrimination and overstepping its bounds by regulating what SpaceX contends is federally sanctioned activity.
SpaceX’s legal battle foregrounds the company’s claim that the Coastal Commission has no rightful jurisdiction over the affairs of federal agencies operating within Vandenberg Space Force Base, where SpaceX is a tenant.
The dispute centers around the Coastal Commission’s refusal earlier last week to permit an increase in the number of annual launches to 50, with some officials citing CEO Elon Musk’s political posts on X and raising concerns about the billionaire’s labor record at his companies.
SpaceX argues this decision is a threat to national security and violates Constitutional rights while also severely hampering their ability to meet contractual obligations to customers, with potential financial repercussions.
The aerospace manufacturer’s suit echoes a broader discourse on commercial space enterprises’ crucial role in national defense, as outlined by strategic frameworks from the U.S. Defense Department and the Space Force. Such positions underline the essential nature of guaranteed access to space for national security payloads, a need underscored by the Air Force in its advocacy for expanded launch capabilities to support both governmental and commercial objectives.
The filing also challenges the necessity of a coastal development permit (CDP), as demanded by the Commission, for both past and future launches, branding these requirements as unconstitutional under the First Amendment.
As the lawsuit unfolds, the implications for SpaceX’s launch operations—and for the broader commercial spaceflight industry—remain uncertain.
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