LOS ANGELES — SpaceX has significantly increased the frequency of its rocket launches from a Santa Barbara County military base, and its plans to add even more have raised concerns by the California Coastal Commission over the impacts on the environment and nearby communities.
The company, officially Space Exploration Technologies Corp., owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has already breached an agreement between base officials and the coastal commission that limited the yearly launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base to six.
SpaceX has asked the commission for permission to launch up to 36 times per year from Vandenberg, as well as to conduct up to 12 landings a year at a second launch complex and an offshore landing spot in the Pacific Ocean.
Visible for miles around, the launches can create awe-inspiring spectacles as the aircraft hurtle up through the atmosphere, leaving behind a streak tracing the path of the rocket.
But nearer the base, the launches can force the closure and evacuation of nearby beaches and campgrounds, and residents have reported their windows shaking and rattling from the apparent sonic booms.
“It's very stressful when you experience something like a sonic boom and you're not expecting it,” said Phil Simon, a resident of Ojai for 25 years who spoke to the commission Wednesday. “I don't know if the rockets being launched are different now, the trajectory is different, but something is different than how it…
