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Kevin Lang: Proposed Spaceport in Camden County a serious threat to the Cumberland Island National Seashore

Kevin Lang
This Tuesday Oct 28, 2014 photo provided by NASA shows the Orbital Antares rocket, after it suffered a catastrophic anomaly moments after launch at NASAs Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Cygnus spacecraft was filled with supplies slated for the International Space Station, including science experiments, experiment hardware, spare parts, and crew provisions. Photo Credit: (Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP)

It has been curious to see how much attention the application to subdivide 87 acres on Cumberland Island has received in the media. There is clearly a groundswell of support for the Cumberland Island National Seashore and the unique experience that it offers over 60,000 thousand visitors per year. Surprisingly, Camden County's plan to develop a commercial spaceport approximately 4.5 miles due west (inland) of the Cumberland Island National Seashore presents a much more significant threat to the National Seashore and has received only a fraction of the media coverage as the proposed subdivision. If the proposed spaceport becomes a reality, launches would result in large portions (and potentially all) of the National Seashore being closed and evacuated to clear the Launch Hazard Areas established by the FAA for each launch. These closures could last for days in situations where a launch is scrubbed one or more times, which is very frequently the case. The National Park Service has expressed concern that such closures would result in citizens being denied the use and enjoyment of the National Seashore.

1 in 20 rockets fails

In addition to the impact of park closures, there is substantial risk of damage and destruction to the National Seashore from an exploding rocket. Unlike other vertical launch spaceports around the United States, the site for the proposed spaceport in Camden County is not yards from the coastline. The site for the proposed spaceport is approximately 6 miles inland, and rockets launched from the proposed spaceport would have to travel over the National Seashore on their way "up and out." When you consider that one in 20 commercial rockets fails to reach orbit, it is very clear that the risk of a rocket exploding directly over the Cumberland Island National Seashore would be substantial. If that occurs, there would be damage to the National Seashore that can't be remediated or repaired.

Spaceport worse for Cumberland than a subdivision?

The proposed spaceport has received attention from the local papers in Southeast Georgia, but almost no attention from media in larger markets. The Cumberland Island National Seashore is enjoyed by citizens from around the United States and from other countries and is widely known for its wilderness areas, historical structures and pristine coastal environment. How is it that the threats the proposed spaceport presents to the Cumberland Island National Seashore have remained largely uncovered while the proposed subdivision of 87 acres on Cumberland Island by a family that was instrumental in the formation of the National Seashore has unleashed a media firestorm?

For anyone who would like to learn more about the threats the spaceport presents to the Cumberland Island National Seashore, a good starting point is the letter submitted by the National Park Service as part of the public scoping comment process for the Environmental Impact Statement for the project. The letter can found at the following web address: http://bit.ly/2ivveBl. The National Park Service is taking this threat to the Cumberland Island National Seashore very seriously, and it submitted a well-researched and reasoned comment letter that clearly lays out the threats the proposed spaceport presents to the National Seashore.

The National Park Service is doing its job to protect the Cumberland Island National Seashore. It is time for us to do our job by letting the leadership in Camden County and our state representatives and state senators know that the proposed spaceport jeopardizes the Cumberland Island National Seashore, a national treasure that belongs to all of the citizens of the United States.

Kevin Lang is an attorney in Athens, Ga., who enjoys paddling, birding and fishing at the Cumberland Island National Seashore.