Nudists and surfers protest on SpaceX’s plans to launch Starship from Florida

SpaceX is not very popular among beach lovers in Florida at the moment. The rocket company requested a license to launch its Starship rocket from the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which threatens to restrict access to the beach for surfers and relaxed nudists.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently organized a series of public meetings where residents of the region were able to weigh on its next decision to allow the Starship to take off from Cape Canaveral in Florida. During the meeting, the members of the American Association for Nude Recreation expressed their dismay at the prospect of closing the Playalinda beach, located a few kilometers from the launch center, Space.com reported.

Access to the refused beach

SpaceX aims to carry out up to 44 launches per year from the Kennedy Space Center, requesting the approval of the FAA and the Space Force to carry out its sports operations from the Florida space coast. The FAA performs a complete environmental review and seeks the contribution of the public of residents of the region, who expressed their concern about the noise resulting from launches, as well as road and beaches closures.

In its initial evaluation, the FAA estimated that the activity of launching starship in Florida could lead to the closure of Playalinda Beach more than 60 times a year. Playalinda is part of a handful of public beaches in Florida and is known as a popular surfing location, as well as having an optional clothing 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 go to the opportunity for nearby clothing and to overload them and possibly affect regular beaters (Dressed), according to Space.com.

During another public meeting, it was the community of local surfers that were in arms about the activities proposed by Starship in Florida, according to Beach Grit. Located in Canaveral National Seashore, the underdeveloped beach Playalinda offers ideal conditions for surfing. If Starship was to close access to the beach, this would interfere with the moment when the inhabitants could catch the next wave, have argued the surfers.

The local community has even set up an online petition to try to prevent Spacex from grasping Playalinda Beach.