Spaceport Camden

A Launchpad to Nowhere

Cumberland Island is Georgia’s southernmost barrier island and home to miles of undeveloped beaches, acres of pristine maritime forest, and miles-wide salt marsh landscapes. Although Cumberland Island is Camden County’s most popular tourist destination, in 2017, members of the Camden County Commission announced plans that would directly threaten the island and adjacent coastal resources.

Officials are seeking a permit to launch small lift class rockets from a site just inland of the national seashore. Launches or “launch events,” which include launch rehearsals that would require engine start-ups, would occur 36 times per year. Each of these 36 “launch events” would produce noise, heat, air emissions, vibrations, shipping channel and fishing area closures, and would have a probability of failure. The salt marsh, Cumberland River, Little Cumberland Island and the Cumberland Island National Seashore are the areas most at risk in the event of a launch failure. And at least 12 times per year, closures of nearby waterways would be required to accommodate a private space company’s launch schedule.

Small class rockets, like the ones that would be launched from Spaceport Camden, fail an average of 20% of the time.

Not Worth the Risk

Even if everything goes as planned at Spaceport Camden and launches are successful, on average we can expect 2-3 “launch events” per month. These will cause noise, light, air emissions that may include odor, vibration, and closures that will be noticed on Cumberland Island. Under a worse but predictable scenario, rocket launches at Spaceport Camden will fail. These failures usually occur within the first few minutes of the launch. Rocket failures that occur over Cumberland Island may cause falling debris, chemical spills, and fire. Due to the remote location of Cumberland Island, it is unlikely that pollution or a fire would be contained before causing massive damage to property, wildlife, and habitat—some of which would be irreversible.

We’re working to stop this dangerous project.

One Hundred Miles has been working since 2017 to prevent Spaceport Camden from launching rockets over our coast. We have built a network of thousands of concerned citizens and partnered with dozens of partner organizations to ensure robust civic discourse informs local, state, and federal decision-making regarding the project. In 2018, OHM staff was appointed by County Commissioners to sit on the Spaceport Camden Environmental Subcommittee. This body worked for the better part of a year to prepare comments for the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Over the years, our work to understand the facts about how spaceports operate in and impact other US communities and to seek more specific information about Spaceport Camden has run into roadblocks in Camden County. In 2019, the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit on our behalf against the county for withholding information about the spaceport. Today, we continue to engage the public on this issue. In addition to encouraging concerned citizens to send in comments on the Consistency Certification, we are helping the Taxpayers Against Camden Spaceport obtain signatures on a petition that we hope will trigger a referendum on Camden County’s decision to purchase the site where Spaceport Camden will be located.

You can help.

Sign our petition! The site of Spaceport Camden is still owned by a private company. Although Camden County has an option to buy part of it, there are still many issues associated with the property that need to be address—namely, that the site is heavily contaminated with toxic waste. If Camden County purchases the property, its taxpayers will be on the hook for the massively expensive cleanup that will be required. One Hundred Miles is helping Taxpayers Against Camden Spaceport circulate a petition to get the signatures of 10% of the registered voters in Camden County. Once we reach this milestone, the petition will be certified by a judge who will call for a referendum on Camden County’s purchase of the property. It is our hope that the voters will repeal the Commissioners’ decision.