The U.S. Air Force has scrapped its plans to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries using Elon Musk’s SpaceX rockets from the remote Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean—all to protect a few seabird nests.
The decision, first reported by Stars and Stripes, comes just weeks after Reuters ran a story quoting so-called “experts” who raised concerns that the high-speed delivery project could disturb nesting tropical birds on the uninhabited atoll.
The Air Force had intended to use the atoll—an uninhabited U.S. territory located 800 miles southwest of Hawaii—as a launch and landing site for experimental rocket systems capable of delivering 100 tons of cargo anywhere on Earth in under 90 minutes.
The implications for battlefield logistics and humanitarian aid were monumental. But that vision has now been grounded.
Why? Because a handful of environmentalists raised concerns over the nesting patterns of tropical birds on the atoll.
A petition opposing the program gathered fewer than 4,000 signatures. In response, the Air Force initially promised an environmental review. Now, they’re outright exploring new locations.
Hellbound and Down 