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State Coastal Commission rejects Air Force plans for more SpaceX launches from Central Coast

SpaceX

The State Coastal Commission is at odds with the Air Force over plans to increase the number of SpaceX launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

The Commission voted 6-4 to reject the Air Force’s plans to increase the number of SpaceX launches from the base to 50 annually. The military had sought approval of what’s know as a consistency determination for the increased launches.

Commissioners raised questions over whether the SpaceX launches should undergo a more elaborate review process because they fall under the category of civilian launches.

But, the vote may not matter, because of the agency’s limited ability to regulate federal agencies.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.