SpaceX’s frequent rocket launches are terrorizing cities in the middle of the night

SpaceX has quickly become something of a taxi service for space travel, allowing private companies and governments to send satellites into orbit at an affordable price for research and commercial purposes. However, the frequent launches have become something of a nightmare for those who live near the launch sites.

Business Insider was talking with residents near the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, who have expressed feelings ranging from excitement to frustration with the launches that sometimes cause houses to rattle, car alarms to go off, and dogs to start barking in the middle of the night. Residents near other launch sites in Florida and Texas have expressed similar concerns.

“I have major panic attacks during launches,” said Inga Yater, a resident of Carpinteria, California. Business Insider. “And it keeps getting worse; sometimes I feel like I’m having a heart attack.” Carpinteria is more than 70 kilometers from the launch site. Just ten miles away from the base in Lompoc, residents have reported sonic booms that can feel like an earthquake.

Never before has SpaceX launched so frequently – in 2024, SpaceX performed 50 launches from Vandenberg alone and aims to double that to 100 by 2025. In addition to launching satellites for other companies, SpaceX also built its Starlink satellite Internet service and must periodically. replace the satellites approximately every five years. Starlink became a vital source of communication infrastructure in places like Ukraine where traditional land connections have been cut.

Vandenberg offers an SMS alert system for locals to be notified of upcoming launches, but those who have signed up for the service say it’s not always reliable and doesn’t give a good idea of ​​how loud a boom will be felt.

The rockets that SpaceX has launched are mainly from its Falcon series and are smaller than the Starship rockets that SpaceX plans to use in the future. Kent Gee, a physics professor and acoustic engineer at Brigham Young University, said Starship launches are similar to a “volcanic eruption on the launch pad” and the sound as loud as 200 feet from a Boeing 747 during takeoff, from his estimate.

SpaceX has no plans to launch Starship rockets from Vandenberg. You want to launch Falcon Heavy rockets from the base, however, which are larger than the existing rockets that launch from Vanderberg. The Falcon Heavy must first pass an environmental review and SpaceX must maintain insurance in case locals report structural damage from its launches.

Noise pollution and ground tremors can be disruptive to daily life, and it is not clear what exactly can be done about the disturbances in addition to the movement of the launchers. In Florida and Texas, disturbances are less common because the launches in those places are further away from populated areas. In general, launchpads have to be near a body of water so that any spilled components do not endanger life on earth, limiting where they can go.

SpaceX did not respond Business Insider request for comment and generally does not speak to the media. The company has faced criticism in Texas for endangered wildlife there, but the administration of President-elect Trump has signaled that any company that invests at least $1 billion in the United States can expect receive expedited project approvalsin particular so-called environmental obstacles. Residents near their launch sites shouldn’t expect to recover anytime soon.