California Commissioners Reject Expansion of SpaceX Launches, a Non-Binding Rebuff of Musk

A California state commission voted against approving more SpaceX launches, a non-binding sign of discontent with Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and his rocket company.

(Bloomberg) — A California state commission voted against approving more SpaceX launches, a non-binding sign of discontent with Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and his rocket company.

Members of the California Coastal Commission voted 6-4 on Thursday against a request by the US military to approve a larger annual number of SpaceX launch activities from Vandenberg Space Force Base, northwest of Los Angeles. 

Prior to the vote, commissioners expressed concern about why SpaceX was not applying for a permit itself and submitting to questioning by the commission. Several also voiced concern over working conditions at SpaceX, and about Musk’s increasingly prominent and provocative role in US politics.

Gretchen Newsom, an alternate member of the commission, gave a speech at its Thursday meeting in San Diego citing what she called “alarming reporting from Reuters and Bloomberg,” raising concern over employee injuries and a “toxic” culture.  

Newsom, an electrical workers union government affairs representative, pointed to SpaceX’s firing of workers who were involved in an open letter raising concerns about the environment there, and its lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the US National Labor Relations Board after the agency filed a complaint over those terminations. 

She also said Musk was “hopping around the country spewing and tweeting political falsehoods and attacking” the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the organization responsible for overseeing hurricane relief.

Appearing via video-conference during the meeting, SpaceX government affairs director Mathew Dunn told the group, “we are deeply proud to support the Department of Defense in launching the full range of national security space missions.”

SpaceX and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The federal government has authority to proceed without the support of the Commission, whose members are appointed by the state’s governor and legislators. In an emailed statement, the Department of the Air Force said “it would be premature to speculate” on whether that would happen.

“The Space Force’s dedication to collaboration here is in many ways unprecedented — so is our commitment to ensuring dialogue continues,” Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Energy, Installations, and Environment Ravi Chaudhary said. The federal government’s “unwavering commitment” to preservation of the coastline and species there was unchanged by the commission’s vote, he said.

Musk has joined Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who he’s endorsed and rallied with on the campaign trail, in amplifying unverified allegations about the government’s storm response.

(Updates with additional government comment starting in the eighth paragraph.)