Florida's Rocket Launch Mania: Are We Just Numb Now?
So, Florida launched its 100th rocket this year. Big deal. Except, wait, it IS a big deal, apparently. Col. Brian Chatman, commander of Space Launch Delta 45, is quoted as saying, “100 launches is a complete game changer on the Space Coast."
A "game changer?" Really?
Call me cynical – offcourse I am – but does anyone else feel like we're just mainlining rocket launches at this point? It's like watching the same superhero movie every week. The explosions are cool the first few times, but eventually, you're just checking your phone waiting for it to be over. You can See photos of the overnight SpaceX rocket launch from Cape Canaveral.
The Numbers Game: Who Cares?
They keep throwing these numbers at us: 100 launches, more than the rest of the world combined (excluding Vandenberg, because, you know, gotta have that asterisk). 1,724 Starlink satellites launched from the Space Coast this year alone. It's all just noise.
What does any of this MEAN to the average person struggling to pay rent? Are these launches solving world hunger? Curing cancer? No. They're launching more internet satellites so I can doomscroll on Twitter faster. Thanks, guys.
And let's be real, most of these launches are for Starlink. Elon's vanity project to beam internet to… well, to people who can already afford internet, probably. It ain't exactly closing the digital divide.
The Future is Foggy (Literally and Figuratively)
Chatman is already predicting 100-120 launches next year, and a bonkers 300 launches a year by 2035-2040. Three HUNDRED? Are we turning Florida into a giant, overcrowded launchpad?
What about the environmental impact? The noise pollution? The light pollution? Do we just pave over everything and call it progress? I'm just asking questions here.
I mean, sure, Robert Taylor, the emeritus space history professor, says Wernher Von Braun would be a happy man. But Von Braun was also, you know, a Nazi. So maybe his happiness shouldn't be our primary goal. Just a thought.
Then again, maybe I'm just being a grumpy old man yelling at rockets. But someone has to ask the questions that the cheerleaders aren't asking.
So, What's Next? More Rockets?
The article mentions that the Space Force, Space Florida, government agencies, and Kennedy Space Center are "working very closely" on navigating the "potential logistical challenges" of this launch explosion. What does that even MEAN? More meetings? More consultants? More PowerPoint presentations?
I want specifics. I want to know how they're planning to mitigate the environmental impact. I want to know how they're going to handle the increased traffic and infrastructure demands. I want to know who's actually benefiting from all this besides Elon Musk and a few defense contractors.
