A Southern California lawmaker has introduced a bill that would void a coastal commission decision limiting how many rocket launches by Elon Musk’s SpaceX are permitted at Vandenberg Space Force Base per year. That number is currently limited to 36. In October, the California Coastal Commission rejected a bid to increase the number to 50 launches.
At the time, some commissioners said they were concerned about Musk’s involvement in the presidential election. Musk, the founder of SpaceX, spent hundreds of millions of dollars to help elect Donald Trump.
The bill by California Assembly member Bill Essyali would void the Coastal Commission’s decision. He called it a national security issue and said that government agencies should not be taking sides in politics.
“This should be a bipartisan issue. I mean, the only reason that was offered for rejecting this application — I believe the real reason — was because of politics. They said that Elon Musk is injecting himself into politics,” Essayli said.
In fact, many Democrats on the Central Coast support allowing SpaceX to increase launches from Vandenberg, including Representative Salud Carbajal and Assembly member Gregg Hart. They say it would give a boost to the local economy.
The coastal commission did not get back to KCBX in time for this broadcast. Assembly Bill 10 is expected to be heard in committee at the start of 2025.
