Most people don’t say “no” to Elon Musk. The California Coastal Commission is an exception.
On Oct. 10, coastal commissioners voted 6-4 to deny a request to allow more of Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets to launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, located near Lompoc in northern Santa Barbara County.
Opinion
The U.S. Air Force, which partners with SpaceX on spy satellites and other defense contracts, had petitioned the Coastal Commission to increase the number of launches from 36 to 50. And that’s just for now; at the October hearing, a Vandenberg official said the Air Force plans early next year to submit a request for 100 Falcon launches per year.
The denial was an audacious move even for the California Coastal Commission, which already had a reputation for sticking it to the rich and powerful…