SACRAMENTO, CA- The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects freedom of speech, among other things. However, last week, the so-called “California Coastal Commission” shut down attempts by Elon Musk-owned SpaceX to launch additional rockets from facilities in California. The reasoning offered by the commission is nothing more than political retribution for Musk’s support of former President Trump, according to The Liberty Daily.
According to the Los Angeles Times:
SpaceX’s plans to launch more rockets from the California coast were rejected by a state commission this past week, with some officials citing Elon Musk’s political posts on X and raising concerns about the billionaire’s labor record at his companies.
The plan to increase the number of rocket blasts into space up to 50 a year was rejected by the California Coastal Commission on Thursday despite assurances from Space Force and Air Force officials that they would increase efforts to monitor the effects that rocket launches have on nearby wildlife.
This would appear to be a blatant and direct assault on the protections guaranteed by the First Amendment. In fact, the chair of the California Coastal Commission, Caryl Hart, specifically cited Musk’s politics in the decision.
“We’re dealing with a company, the head of which has aggressively injected himself into the presidential race,” Hart said.
It should be noted that with SpaceX being used by the Air Force and Space Force to launch rockets on their behalf, denying additional launches could also impact national security.
The possible First Amendment violation did not get by Michael Shellenberger, a free speech advocate, who wrote on X:
“California regulators have blocked @SpaceX launches because they disagree with @elonmusk’s politics. This is a blatant violation of the First Amendment and a gross abuse of power, even in increasingly totalitarian California.”
Continuing his blast on California politicians, Shellenberger cited comments made by commissioners, one of whom complained that Musk, as owner of SpaceX, has “direct control of what could be the most expansive communications system in [sic] the planet.”
That commissioner did not explain what that has to do with denying permits to launch SpaceX rockets on behalf of the Air Force and Space Force.
Another commissioner complained, “Elon Musk is hopping about the country, spewing and tweeting political falsehoods and attacking [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] while claiming his desire to help hurricane victims with free Starlink access to the Internet.”
According to the LA Times, military officials have repeatedly asked the commission to increase the number of SpaceX launches, and officials signaled they are hoping to increase the flights to 100 annually by early next year.
The Times noted that at an April meeting, the commission rebuffed military officials' insistence that all SpaceX activities benefit the U.S. government and are, therefore, federal activities. The commissioners, who do not appear to have expertise in either military or interstellar affairs, claimed that Starlink, also owned by Musk, refused to allow Ukraine to use the satellite internet service to attack Russia in September 2022.
At the time, Musk posted on X that there was a request from Ukraine to activate Starlink services in Ukraine to destroy a Russian fleet of ships, however, he refused the request because the satellite communications service would then be “explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.”
This denial suggests retribution from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has been engaged in a war of words with Elon Musk since Newsom signed into law a requirement that bans schools from notifying parents of gender dysphoria issues with their children, with Newsom claiming the law “protects the child-parent relationship” and keeps the government from “inappropriately intervening in family matters.” In fact, it appears to do the opposite.
Newsom’s policies have also driven Musk to relocate his business from California to Texas.
The LA Times reached out to a SpaceX spokesperson for comment on the decision; however, none was received. A spokesperson previously told the LA Times in an email that all launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base, including commercial ones, are considered federal activity.
Meanwhile, Vandenberg officials issued a statement saying they will not be deterred from attempting a solution that is palatable to the commission.
“Today’s vote hasn’t changed the [Department of the Air Force’s] or Vandenberg’s unwavering commitment to preserving the California coastline and the precious species that reside there,” Ravi Chaudhary, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for energy, installations, and the environment said in a statement. “The Space Force’s dedication to collaboration here is in many ways unprecedented–so is our commitment to ensuring dialogue continues.”
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