👀👀👀
Wow. California has rejected the air force’s plan to give spacex permission to launch 50 times a year
… because of @elonmusk’s tweets
Disagreeing on politics is one thing, but it’s no reason to tear down SpaceX or Tesla.
Here are some reasons why permitting more rocket launches should have nothing to do with Elon's X posts or political positions, though I acknowledge the LA Times article raised some other environmental concerns. Also, ill throttle back the lengthy posts and start working on some TLDRs in future.
1. Most payloads launched from Vandenberg support the Department of Defense, like Starshield, protecting our national security and warfighters in the field. We are in a space race for the ultimate high ground.
2. Starlink launches from Vandenberg help connect people who are otherwise disconnected—whether through access to information, telemedicine or during natural disasters. It is a service that improves lives and in real cases --saves lives.
3. Space is the last great frontier. We know so little about it, yet we could discover new sources of power, new materials, new life or even new homes. It is a quest for answers to the big questions we’ve all pondered. This mission requires a generation of intelligent dreamers and every rocket launch inspires a few more to contribute to the grand endeavor.
4. And if all these big-picture reasons aren’t enough, consider this.. SpaceX employs a lot of highly educated people to build, launch and recover those rockets. If California does not want them - I imagine other states will.