Is Musk Being Cut Off? U.S. Military Suspends Cooperation
Recent reports from U.S. media indicate that the U.S. Air Force has suspended a cargo rocket test flight program due to concerns regarding its impact on the ecological environment.
The U.S. Air Force planned to collaborate with companies to utilize commercial rockets to transport up to 100 tons of cargo to any location around the world within "tactical time." The military aimed to build two rocket landing sites on Johnston Atoll in the Pacific for testing purposes. In October 2020, the U.S. military stated that it was working with entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX; however, no partnering company has been confirmed to date.
According to a report in the "Federal Register" in March, the U.S. military is conducting an environmental assessment for the construction of the landing sites, which includes evaluating the impact of up to 10 rocket landings per year over four years on Johnston Atoll. Environmental groups oppose the landing site construction plan.
On the 3rd of this month, the "Stars and Stripes" reported that an Air Force spokesperson stated in an email that they are considering locations outside of Johnston Atoll as test sites for the cargo rocket project, and the environmental assessment for Johnston Atoll has been temporarily shelved. Future decisions on whether to restart or terminate the environmental assessment will be announced separately.
Johnston Atoll is located approximately 1,300 kilometers from Hawaii and is an unincorporated territory of the U.S. that has long been used as a military testing site. In the 1950s and 60s, it served as a missile launch site during U.S. nuclear weapon tests, with several failed tests resulting in plutonium contamination.
In March, an environmental organization stated that Johnston Atoll, under U.S. military control, has endured "devastating activities" such as nuclear testing and the storage and destruction of chemical munitions, and the construction of a cargo rocket landing site would cause "more irreparable damage" to the area.
