New Law to Reduce Rocket Noise in Lompoc Being Proposed
Jarrod Zinn
LOMPOC, Calif. – A new bill aims to reduce rocket noise from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
This is in response to public complaints.
Central Coast residents are no strangers to the sonic booms and far-reaching vibrations caused by rocket launches occurring with increasing frequency at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The base conducted 51 launches in 2024, and there are plans for 100 or more annually, mostly from Space-X rockets.
“As the tempo of launches increases it is creating sonic booms and noise that is impacting a number of communities,” says Congressman Salud Carbajal.
Proponents of rocket launches say they are vital to our local economy, national defense, research, and innovation.
“As far as I’m concerned. The noise is the sound of freedom and also the sound of the future. Bring us the future. Thank you,” stated a local launch proponent during a recent public hearing.
But the launches have led to concerns about environmental harm, damages to property, and of course, noise.
“I was woken early and was looking for a place for safety to go because I thought it was an earthquake and it was super loud,” stated another local at the same public hearing.
“How can we continue to support the increased tempo in launches provided that is doable and feasible?” asks Congressman Carbajal. “And, too, how do we mitigate the noise?”
Earlier this month, Congressman Salud Carbajal introduced the “Space Launch Noise Mitigation Study Act.”
“I’ve been working with Vandenberg Space Force Base to mitigate those noise challenges,” says Carbajal. “And they’ve been working very cooperatively with my office.”
If passed, the bill would increase funding and efforts to conduct critical studies and develop new technologies to lessen the adverse effects of launches.
“This legislation not only recognizes that there’s an impact from these sonic booms,” Carbajal continues. “But that there’s a need to create a mitigation grant program to alleviate the impact that it does have.”
Environmental studies on rocket launches that have yielded surprising discoveries like how far sound travels under certain weather conditions, trajectories, and time of day or year, warrant these further studies and additional technologies.
Congressman Carbajal says the ultimate goal is to find a balance between continuing the launches and taking steps for environmental stewardship and neighborly accommodation.
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