Today, March 11, voters in tiny Steuben, Maine will go to the polls to determine whether or not to ban rocket launch facilities and construction of rockets in their town.
If the referendum fails maybe the Gulf of Maine will be renamed Gulf of Blushift Aerospace Debris?
Launches off the coast of Steuben would be visible and probably audible from Acadia National Park and from iconic wealthy enclave Bar Harbor. Probably Jonesport, too, where townspeople already said "no" to a rocket launch site.
The referendum effort in Steuben was organized by Larch Hansen of Maine Seaweed who rejects claims that rocket launches would not disturb the ecosystem of his sustainable harvest. Last month I posted about his efforts and those of us elsewhere in the state who don't want Maine turned into a junkyard for private rocket profiteers.
You can also find more information on the Steuben and Jonesport resistance here at the website NoToxicRockets4ME.
The website includes a compilation of the experiences of other localities like Texas, Alaska, and New Zealand who allowed rocket launch sites to be built on their coastlines. Flora and fauna suffer even when launches go as planned -- and they very often do not go as planned. Just ask the elongated muskrat how his many largely unregulated SpaceX launches have failed and how that affected others around them.
Promises are often made that launch sites will never be used for military purposes. Residents of Kodiak heard such claims when they were being lobbied for permission to build; now, the site is routinely used by the Israeli military. A Maine aerospace CEO told us at the 2023 Common Ground Fair that the U.S. Space Force wants to fill up low Earth orbit before China and Russia can get there. So Maine appears to be heading into the dangerous and destabilizing rush to militarize space.
I'm wishing the best of luck to Steuben today. Hopefully they have noted the experiences of nearby Jonesport and will vote in their own best interests.
