No Toxic Rockets for Maine

Who We Are

"#NatureLovers opposed to building #polluting #RocketLaunch sites in #Maine. We monitored & resisted the rush to pass 'emergency' legislation to create a public-private partnership for rocket launch sites in our state. In April, 2022, #LD1923 was signed into law by Gov. #JanetMills after passing the House 'under the gavel' i.e. without a voice vote.

Military Use

"LD 1923's sponsor Rep. Daughtry insists that no military uses are planned for rocket launch sites in Maine. But in every location we've studied, the same promises were made and not kept.

"In# Kodiak, #Alaska 20 years ago one launch site was built with developers claiming it was only for civilian purposes. There are now multiple sites there being used by the #Pentagon and the #IsraeliMilitary. Meanwhile, the jobs that were promised for the project never developed. Sites are staffed when launches happen by outsiders who leave after the event. Only custodial and security staff jobs are available to the local community.

"Recently a #SpaceX launch of satellites saw 40 of them fall out of the atmosphere due to a #SolarStorm. In their statement about their response to the incident, SpaceX stressed their close cooperation with the Pentagon:

"The #Starlink team commanded the satellites into a safe-mode where they would fly edge-on (like a sheet of paper) to minimize drag — to effectively 'take cover from the storm' — the #SpaceForce’s 18th Space Control Squadron and LeoLabs to provide updates on the satellites based on ground radars.

#Toxic Fallout

"When rocket launches go wrong -- as they frequently do -- #chemicals rain down on land and sea as highly toxic materials burn up.

"In case of fires at the rocket launch site, large scale storage of #PFAS foam is to be expected. Maine already has a severe #PFASContamination problem on #Agricultural land across the state."

Learn more about their mission:
https://www.notoxicrockets4me.org/

#NoToxicRocketsForMaine #SpaceCorporations #Pollution #MilitarizationOfSpace #ToxicRockets #SpacePollution #SpaceIndustry

Some #environmental advocates oppose the creation of a #Maine #Space Corporation

Maine Public | By Irwin Gratz
Published February 28, 2022

"Encouraging the development of a #SpaceIndustry in Maine would be bad for the state's environment and do little to help its economy, according to opponents of a bill that proposes a public-private partnership to assist nascent rocket companies.

"The measure, #LD1923, would offer technical assistance and attempt to put state government behind a bid to find a suitable rocket launching site.

"Opponents, including former Independent U.S. Senate Candidate #LisaSavage of Solon, say the bill, and the idea of Maine as a rocket launch site, are bad ideas.

"Savage says rocketry has proven to be harmful to the #environment. 'Rocket launches in other places have been very hard on #wildlife, killed lots of #birds,' she said.

"And Savage adds rocket launches, 'always add to climate crisis by putting exhaust into the atmosphere. Rockets that go up high enough, punch holes in the ozone layer, which was just beginning to get repaired.'

"Savage says she doubts a space industry would generate many jobs, and it could hurt Maine's brand as a vacation haven where 'you go to enjoy pristine waters and good air quality and beautiful wildlife.'

"Savage says she's also unhappy with the way the Maine Space Corporation legislation is moving through the legislature. She says there was inadequate notice of a #PublicHearing on the bill and the committee voted to recommend its passage contingent on two amendments that have yet to be written."

https://www.mainepublic.org/politics/2022-02-28/environmental-advocates-oppose-the-creation-of-a-maine-space-corporation

#NoToxicRocketsForMaine #SpaceCorporations #Pollution

TY to @NoelWauchope for posting this on the nuclear-news.net web page! "#TheGlobalNetwork and #MaineNaturalGuard are organizing the No Toxic Rockets for ME campaign that will hold a #PeacefulProtest."

#Protest #Maine #SpaceIndustry Conference in Portland

Monday, November 6, 2023 at 11:30 am

Holiday Inn by the Bay, 88 Spring St, Portland, #Maine

TALKING POINTS (via #NoToxicRocketsForMaine)

- All rocket launches cause harm to our #Climate no matter what they claim and no matter what kind of fuel they use. #ClimateCrisis is hastened by rocket launches, and this is a rapidly growing concern. #AluminumOxide produced when launches fail and burn up re-entering Earth's airspace cause significant damage to the #OzoneLayer.

- Environmental toxins such as #PFAS from fire-suppression systems at rocket launch sites pose a deadly threat to our water and soil. Aluminum fallout from rockets and payloads that fail falls to Earth, along with other chemicals from the incineration of plastics and other components of rockets.

- All rocket launch sites previously built on the promise that there would be no military use failed to keep that promise. In Kodiak, Alaska their "civilian-use only" site has both the Pentagon and Israel's military using it for rocket launches of weapons and surveillance systems.

- #Birds in particular are harmed by rocket launches, often with mass death events following a launch. Jonesport's commercial fishing community imposed a moratorium on rocket launch sites due to concerns about disruption to their livelihood.

- Publicly supported development of facilities intended for private profit is a bad deal for #taxpayers. Why socialize research and development costs while privatizing the eventual profits?

Read more: https://sites.google.com/view/notoxicrocketsforme/take-action?authuser=0

#LD1923 #PortlandMaine #Protest #NoWar #MilitarisationOfSpace #KeepSpaceForPeace