Latest news with #JohnstonAtoll
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Air Force Abandons Project With Musk's SpaceX
The U.S. Air Force has abandoned plans to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries from a remote Pacific atoll using Elon Musk's SpaceX, a U.S. military publication has reported. The decision was made after Reuters reported that experts were concerned the project, which would be based on the remote Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, would harm the seabirds that nest on the islands. In response to that report, the Air Force had said it would conduct an environmental assessment, but is now instead exploring alternative locations for the program, a spokesperson told Stars and Stripes. A petition calling for the Air Force to abandon its plan had garnered more than 3,800 signatures by Wednesday. The proposed program involves test-landing rocket re-entry vehicles that are designed to deliver up to 100 tons of cargo anywhere on Earth within 90 minutes. The program would use commercial rockets, including those made by SpaceX, though no formal announcements regarding industry partners have been made. The program would allow the military to deliver supplies rapidly to any corner of the globe, with the Air Force noting that 'current military modes of transportation require days to weeks of planning and logistics to provide material to distant locations at the time and place of need.' Johnston Atoll, an unincorporated U.S. territory some 800 miles southwest of Hawaii, is closed to the public, and is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Air Force. It is designated as a National Wildlife Refuge and is home to 14 species of tropical birds. SpaceX has previously come under fire from conservation groups for its impact on the environment, with groups suing the FAA in May challenging its decision to approve expanded rocket launch operations in South Texas without conducting further environmental studies—despite the site's location next to a national wildlife refuge. One rocket launch in Boca Chica, Texas, last year destroyed the nests and eggs of plover shorebirds, leading Musk to joke that he would abstain from eating omelets for a week to make up for the damage caused.
Reuters
04-07-2025
- Science
- Reuters
US Air Force suspends SpaceX rocket project on Pacific atoll, report says
WASHINGTON, July 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force has suspended plans it had proposed with Elon Musk's SpaceX to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries from a remote Pacific atoll, according to a report this week in Stars and Stripes, an independent publication of the U.S. military. The suspension came after Reuters reported that biologists and experts said the project would harm many seabirds that nest at the wildlife refuge on the Johnston Atoll, an unincorporated U.S. territory nearly 800 miles (1,300 km) southwest of Hawaii. The Air Force had said it would undertake an environmental assessment of the project, but publication of a draft assessment was delayed after opposition to the plan by environmental groups. The Air Force and SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Air Force is exploring alternative locations for the program, a spokesperson of the military branch told the Stars and Stripes newspaper in story published on Thursday. The program would use commercial rockets, such as those made by SpaceX, although the Air Force has not announced private partners. It would test landing rocket re-entry vehicles designed to deliver up to 100 tons of cargo to anywhere on Earth within about 90 minutes. The program would be a breakthrough for military logistics by making it easier to move supplies quickly into distant locations. But it could be too much for the island's 14 species of tropical birds to withstand, according to biologists and experts who have worked on the one-square-mile (2.6 square km) atoll, part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. SpaceX's activities have affected protected birds elsewhere. A SpaceX launch of its Starship rocket in Boca Chica, Texas, last year involved a blast that destroyed nests and eggs of plover shorebirds, landing the company of billionaire Musk in legal trouble and leading him to remark jokingly that he would refrain from eating omelets for a week to compensate.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
US Air Force suspends SpaceX rocket project on Pacific atoll, report says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Air Force has suspended plans it had proposed with Elon Musk's SpaceX to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries from a remote Pacific atoll, according to a report this week in Stars and Stripes, an independent publication of the U.S. military. The suspension came after Reuters reported that biologists and experts said the project would harm many seabirds that nest at the wildlife refuge on the Johnston Atoll, an unincorporated U.S. territory nearly 800 miles (1,300 km) southwest of Hawaii. The Air Force had said it would undertake an environmental assessment of the project, but publication of a draft assessment was delayed after opposition to the plan by environmental groups. The Air Force and SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Air Force is exploring alternative locations for the program, a spokesperson of the military branch told the Stars and Stripes newspaper in story published on Thursday. The program would use commercial rockets, such as those made by SpaceX, although the Air Force has not announced private partners. It would test landing rocket re-entry vehicles designed to deliver up to 100 tons of cargo to anywhere on Earth within about 90 minutes. The program would be a breakthrough for military logistics by making it easier to move supplies quickly into distant locations. But it could be too much for the island's 14 species of tropical birds to withstand, according to biologists and experts who have worked on the one-square-mile (2.6 square km) atoll, part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. SpaceX's activities have affected protected birds elsewhere. A SpaceX launch of its Starship rocket in Boca Chica, Texas, last year involved a blast that destroyed nests and eggs of plover shorebirds, landing the company of billionaire Musk in legal trouble and leading him to remark jokingly that he would refrain from eating omelets for a week to compensate.
E&E News
30-05-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
Enviros file FOIA lawsuit over Air Force rocket testing in refuge
Environmentalists are now suing to learn more about the Air Force's plan of landing cargo-hauling rockets on a remote Pacific atoll that's also a bird magnet. Citing the potential threats that rocket landings could pose to Johnston Atoll and its wildlife, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in hopes of squeezing out more details about what the Air Force calls the Rocket Cargo Vanguard program. The test program calls for up to 10 reentry vehicle landings per year over four consecutive years at a site to be constructed in the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, which is within the vast Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument. Advertisement 'Landing massive rockets in one of the most isolated and valuable habitats for seabirds would be as destructive and irresponsible as it sounds. That's exactly why the military and SpaceX are trying to keep this project's details hidden from the public,' said Maxx Phillips, Hawaii and Pacific Islands director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
