California Rejects Military Plan to Increase SpaceX Launches
State panel denies Musk for a second time.
WASHINGTON, August 20, 2025 – It’s been a turbulent summer for Elon Musk. His most recent political struggle involves the California Coastal Commission.
The state agency responsible for protecting California’s coastline has unanimously rejected a U.S. Space Force proposal to double the number of SpaceX launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California.
The military requested to increase the annual launches from 50 to 100, but on August 14, the Coastal Commission vetoed the plan, citing insufficient consideration of potential environmental impacts on local wildlife and neighboring communities.
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