By Kurtis Archer | 2025-01-17

Last year's surge in space launches at the Vandenberg Space Force Base marked a return of activity at the center not seen since the Space Race of the 1960s.

This dramatic resurgence, driven primarily by SpaceX, highlights the base's vital role in national security and commercial space exploration.

At the same time, it also has stirred increased scrutiny of the potential environmental impact of the higher frequency of orbital launches and landings at the base, spurring the US Department of the Air Force (DAF) to try and tackle the issue head-on, according to Space News.

DAF is the military department within which the United States Air Force and the United States Space Force are organized.

DAF introduced a proposed Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in December to address key issues such as sonic booms, marine debris and threats to wildlife -- including the endangered snowy plover population near the base.

The plover, listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act, faces challenges from launch-related disturbances, including nest abandonment due to sonic booms.

To mitigate these issues, DAF is exploring solutions like noise-reducing insulation for buildings -- a strategy proven effective in aviation.

Limiting launches

DAF's proposed action plan sees SpaceX, which conducted 46 of last year's record 47 launches, using the redeveloped Space Launch Complex (SLC) 6 for both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches at Vandenberg, along with an increase in downrange landings on a droneship in the Pacific.

SLC-6 was first built in the 1960s for a program that was canceled before any launches occurred. Several years later it was converted to support Space Shuttle missions, but after the Challenger disaster in 1986 there was only one launch at the site until United Launch Alliance (ULA) took over in 2006.

The Space Force awarded SLC-6 access to SpaceX in 2023 after ULA had its final Delta 4 launch from the site and moved out, the report said.

According to the 2025 EIS plans, SpaceX will be allowed to launch up to 100 times per year between its existing launch pad at SLC-4 and its newfound use of SLC-6.

The California Coastal Commission symbolically voted in October 2024 to deny Space Force's request to bring the existing 36 Falcon 9 launches per year up to 50 at the site, Space News reported.

Some analysts think that SpaceX should be seeking the increase in launches instead of the Space Force, since most launches from Vandenberg were for commercial purposes and not for the US government, the report said.

However, the commission does not have unilateral authority to block the increase in launches.

Environmental concerns

Complaints raised by the public about the DAF's proposed plan include sonic booms causing noise pollution and structural damage, debris burning through the upper atmosphere and damaging the ozone layer, hardware crashes into the ocean having largely unknown consequences on marine life, and more, Space News reported.

Environmental organizations and individuals concerned within the general public have called on the EIS commission to hold off on proposing an increase in launches, according to the report.

They claim an increase from 36 to 50 annual launches is still not fully understood, so an increase to 100 would add even more concern.

More data must be collected on how 36 launches a year are impacting the environment, Space News said. The public is invited to submit their comments and concerns on the project and this 45-day scoping period ends on January 27.

'Big impact'

While the California Coastal Commission opposed an increase in annual launches, industry leaders emphasized the broader benefits.

Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck noted in an interview with Scientific American published June 6 that the environmental cost of space launches is often outweighed by the global impact of the missions, such as satellites providing critical weather data.

"The fact of the matter is that when you go to space, you have to burn stuff. But it's burned at such high pressures and temperatures that the combustion products are very efficient," he said. "Unfortunately, you can't do anything in space without some kind of emissions, and so you have to make those trades."

"I tend to think that putting stuff in space is like building infrastructure," Beck added. "If we put a satellite into orbit to do weather prediction, for example, that small machine provides weather details and data to literally millions of people around the planet."

"So you can have a really big impact for a relatively small piece of infrastructure," he said. "Whereas if you build a road in a city, it’s only the people who live in that area and have access to it who benefit."

Beck also pointed out that context is key, mentioning that a space mission which puts multiple satellites into orbit often uses the same amount of fuel as one Boeing 737 flight within California.