Nudists and Surfers Protest SpaceX’s Plans to Launch Starship From Florida

SpaceX isn’t very popular among beachgoers in Florida at the moment. The rocket company applied for a permit to launch its Starship rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which threatens to restrict beach access for surfers and casual nudists.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently hosted a series of public meetings where residents of the area got to weigh in on its upcoming decision to allow Starship to lift off from Cape Canaveral in Florida. During the meeting, members of the American Association for Nude Recreation expressed dismay at the prospect of shutting down the Playalinda beach, located a few miles away from the launch center, Space.com reported.

Access to beach denied

SpaceX is aiming to conduct up to 44 launches per year from Kennedy Space Center, seeking approval from the FAA and the Space Force to carry out its Starship operations from Florida’s Space Coast. The FAA is conducting a comprehensive environmental review and seeking public input from residents of the area, who have expressed concern about the noise resulting from the launches, as well as road and beach closures.

In its initial assessment, the FAA estimated that Starship’s launch activity in Florida could lead to closing down Playalinda Beach more than 60 times a year. Playalinda is one of a handful of public beaches in Florida and is known as a popular surfing spot, as well as having a clothing-optional section around Boardwalk 13 where public nudity is legal.

During the public meeting, Erich Schuttauf, executive director of the American Association for Nude Recreation, warned that restricting access to Playalinda Beach would force nudists to travel to nearby clothing-optional beaches and overcrowd them and possibly affect regular (clothed) beachgoers, according to Space.com.

At another public meeting, it was the community of local surfers who were up in arms about Starship’s proposed activities in Florida, according to Beach Grit. Located within Canaveral National Seashore, the underdeveloped Playalinda Beach offers ideal conditions for surfing. If Starship were to close down access to the beach, it would interfere with when locals could catch the next wave, the surfers argued.

The local community has even put together an online petition to try and stop SpaceX from taking hold of Playalinda Beach.