Community Voices Concerns Over Falcon Launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base Forum

LOMPOC, Calif. - Vandenberg Space Force Base held a public forum Thursday night to gather community input on its Falcon launch programs.

Residents living near the base say rocket launches are damaging their property.

“My house has been seriously damaged by the launches,” said Janet Blevins, a Lompoc resident. “The stucco on the outside of the house is cracking. I have windows that are now cracked at all four corners, and these are double-paned windows.”

Base leaders hosted the event at the Dick DeWees Community Center in Lompoc, where they collected public input on the Falcon launch program.

“The main purpose tonight is to provide an opportunity for the public to offer input and learn a little—or, frankly, a lot—about what we’re trying to do,” said Mark Shoemaker, commander of Space Launch Delta 30.

A major topic of discussion was the base’s environmental impact statement regarding proposed changes to its launch programs.

“This is just part of the broader National Environmental Policy Act process,” Shoemaker said.

The Department of the Air Force is seeking to increase Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch traffic, and is considering all potential implications, from environmental to public health.

“Any time we conduct an environmental impact statement process like this, there’s a proposed plan, and then we have alternatives. There’s always the ‘do nothing’ alternative as well,” Shoemaker said.

Project managers set up informational booths at the community center, but some residents said they were disappointed with the format.

“The information I received, and what everyone else here expected, was that this would be a sit-down meeting where people could publicly comment,” Blevins said.

Thursday’s event was the final session in a series of three public scoping meetings. There will be a virtual meeting on Thursday, January 23.