A graphical depiction of a notional Rocket Cargo concept of operations utilizing reusable rocket boosters and spacecraft., (SPACEWORKS ENTERPRISES VIA USAF)
The U.S. Air Force has scrapped its plans to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries using Elon Musk’s SpaceX rockets from the remote Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean—all to protect a few seabird nests.
The decision, first reported by Stars and Stripes, comes just weeks after Reuters ran a story quoting so-called “experts” who raised concerns that the high-speed delivery project could disturb nesting tropical birds on the uninhabited atoll.
The Air Force had intended to use the atoll—an uninhabited U.S. territory located 800 miles southwest of Hawaii—as a launch and landing site for experimental rocket systems capable of delivering 100 tons of cargo anywhere on Earth in under 90 minutes.
The implications for battlefield logistics and humanitarian aid were monumental. But that vision has now been grounded.
Why? Because a handful of environmentalists raised concerns over the nesting patterns of tropical birds on the atoll.
A petition opposing the program gathered fewer than 4,000 signatures. In response, the Air Force initially promised an environmental review. Now, they’re outright exploring new locations.
Stars and Stripes reported:
The Air Force had announced in the Federal Register in March that it was undertaking an environmental assessment for the construction of two rocket landing pads on the atoll.
It anticipated issuing a draft assessment by April, but publication was delayed as opposition to the plan by environmental groups surged. A petition calling for the Air Force to abandon the plan had garnered 3,884 signatures as of Wednesday.
“The Department of the Air Force has elected to hold the preparation of the Johnston Atoll Environmental Assessment for a proposed rocket cargo landing demonstration on Johnston Atoll in abeyance while the service explores alternative options for implementation of the rocket cargo Vanguard program at a location other than Johnston Atoll,” Laurel Falls, an Air Force spokeswoman, said in an email statement Wednesday.
“A notification will be published via Federal Register if the DAF decides to restart the action or ultimately cancel the Environmental Assessment,” she said.
Falls was unable to provide a reason for the expanded site search during a phone interview Wednesday.
The environmental assessment would have evaluated the impact of construction and operation of two landing pads at Johnston Atoll for up to 10 re-entry landings per year over four consecutive years.
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