Will Maine's Town of Steuben Say No To Rocket Launches?

Readers of this blog may recall my reporting on efforts in Maine to block the construction of a rocket launch site in Steuben, visible from Acadia National Park. The fishing community of Jonesport had already blocked Blushift Aerospace of Brunswick from constructing a launch site there in 2022. In a letter to the editor entitled "Rocket entrepreneur didn't fulfill promises to Jonesport," resident Carrie Peabody explained:

Consensus proved 80 to 97% against rockets via multiple municipal processes, including straw vote, petitions, surveys, a moratorium and town vote. The actions backed the establishment of an ordinance to restrict launches.

Jonesport consistently relayed their decision to Deri, underscoring his refusal to fulfill his promise [to respect the consensus]..

Jonesporters.. want industry that enhances their fishing heritage and Down East culture. Rocket launches posed a threat to their livelihood, quality of life, environment, natural resources, tourism and town infrastructure.

A flurry of corporate media puffery ensued where readers were told that the lucky little town of Steuben had been selected as the new site. Local residents began to challenge the town council on their lack of democratic process in making this decision. Some of us organized talks at the Common Ground Fair that year to support them and created an informational website called Notoxicrockets4ME.

At the Common Ground Fair, Blushift CEO Sascha Deri showed up to disrupt our presentation and said we were lying. I'm embedding the video of this, and you can also see it on YouTube here.

Now comes March, the time of year when towns in Maine conduct local elections and hold an annual meeting of interested voters. In Steuben there is a citizen-initiated referendum to ban rocket launches on the ballot.

The Bangor Daily News reported on Hanson's effort:

Larch Hanson, a local resident who owns and operates a local seaweed company, spearheaded the citizen’s petition to get the proposed rocket ordinance on the ballot. He said that other rocket companies also are interested in Maine, and that the issue is bigger than just whether bluShift might expand to Steuben. In a written statement, Hanson said that rocket manufacturing, and possibly retrieving spent rockets from the ocean, is dangerous work. He cited the accidental discharge last summer of toxic fire-retardant foam at Brunswick Landing, where bluShift is headquartered, as something he would fear if rocket manufacturing came to Steuben. The head of bluShift “and those other CEO’s of rocket launching companies who will come tumbling out of the Trojan Horse, once it’s been wheeled through the gates of our community, will never be held accountable for the damage they do to our air, waters, soils, and health,” Hanson said.

Rocket launch sites are often built on the promise that no military use is intended. But Deri has already taken funds from the U.S. Space Force. They are often built on the promise that any pollution or disruption to wildlife will be minimal. But that is a huge lie as demonstrated at many locations where launch failures strew debris for miles and cause fires that burn several acres of wildlife habitat. This recent documentary on Space X in Brownsville, Texas does a good job of showing the reality of living near a rocket launch facility.

PFAS foam tumbled by the breeze following spill at Brunswick Landing

One of the safety issues with rocket launch sites is the need for industrial level fire suppression systems. Coincidentally, Blushift headquarters is located at Brunswick Executive Airport which is the site of the biggest PFAS spill ever. Caused by a malfunction of the fire suppression system that dumped thousands of gallons of forever-chemicals foam onto local land and waterways, this mishap will be impacting fisheries and human health for generations to come. 

PFAS researcher Pat Elder explained:

Clean-up is not possible. Think of the subsurface soils in the region as a massive subterranean sponge full of carcinogens that perpetually squeeze out into groundwater and surface water forever. 

How can we support Steuben in resisting this corporate rocket takeover? Share this information widely. Talk to your friends to see if they know any voters in town. Ask anyone that lives near Acadia, is this what you want for the Maine coast?