SpaceX has filed a lawsuit against a California commission in federal court, accusing political bias in the decision to block the company from increasing rocket launches from a U.S. Air Force base in California. The committee cited Elon Musk’s dissemination of misinformation on Twitter as the reason for rejecting the proposal.
The lawsuit was filed by SpaceX in Los Angeles on Tuesday, seeking an order to prevent the California Coastal Commission from regulating its Falcon 9 rocket launch program at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara.
The lawsuit alleges that the commission’s decision to regulate the company’s launches was based on disapproval of Musk’s political views rather than environmental concerns. Musk claims that the allegations were unjust.
Musk’s lawsuit argues that reviewing his public statements violates his speech rights protected by the U.S. Constitution. The complaint also accuses the commission of unconstitutional overreach that impacts national security and other federal interests, stating that the launches have minimal impact on coastal resources.
The lawsuit also criticizes the commission for targeting the company based on Musk’s political views, emphasizing that government agencies should not punish companies for the beliefs of their executives.
SpaceX, a government contractor for satellite deployments, has been launching Falcon 9 rockets from Central Air Force Base in California since 2013. The Air Force had proposed increasing SpaceX’s annual launches from 36 to 50, meeting California Coastal Authority requirements.
Source: www.theguardian.com
