Comments closed August 7
Stop unregulated rocket launches from public ocean waters
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management · Outer Continental Shelf
- What
- BOEM is laying groundwork to let private companies use public ocean shelf for space launches.
- Where
- Outer Continental Shelf
- How much
- Sensitive ocean ecosystems, fishing grounds, and coastal communities on the Outer Continental Shelf could face industrial space launch operations.
- Decided
- Comments closed August 7, 2026. No decision document is on file yet.Date from Federal Register ↗, read July 9, 2026.
Where these four lines come from
- WhatOur plain-English read of the Federal Register 2026-13788 ↗. Check it against the agency’s own words under Case.
- WhereThe places and states the notice names, as PLAN read them.
- How muchThe first sentence of our What’s at risk read of the notice; the whole read is under Case.
- DecidedAugust 7, 2026, from Federal Register, the document’s comment close date (federalregister.gov) ↗. Read July 9, 2026. The decision document is the one on file in PLAN’s record.
- Read from PLAN’s record November 9, 2026.
Matthew N. Giacona
Acting Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
A person signed this, not an agency. The window has closed and the signature stands, which is exactly when accountability matters.
Short is better. You are asking Director Giacona to answer for a decision their office made.
My name is [your name] and I'm calling from [your city and state]. Matthew N. Giacona, Acting Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, signed the decision on Stop unregulated rocket launches from public ocean waters. I'm asking that office to answer for it publicly. Please record that I called and tell me what the office intends to do.
Official channels only, about this decision. No personal phone numbers, no home addresses, no personal social accounts, and nothing abusive. The point is to make the office answer, and an abusive call is the one thing that lets it off the hook.
What the proposal said, and what the decision did
No figure from the proposal has been checked against the decision on this fight yet. What the record does hold is the issues ledger below.
No decision document is on PLAN’s record for this fight yet. When the agency’s decision lands, what it answered goes here.
Affects public lands
BOEM is laying groundwork to let private companies use public ocean shelf for space launches.
What’s at risk
If this goes through
Our plain-English read of the official notice ↗. Check it against the agency’s own words below.
In the agency’s own words
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is seeking public input regarding the potential use of submerged lands and existing offshore facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) for space launch-related activities, including the siting and operation of offshore space launch platforms and potential identification of re- entry sites on the OCS. This Request for Information (RFI) is intended to inform BOEM's understanding of technical, environmental, operational, legal, regulatory, and interagency considerations associated with such activities. BOEM is not proposing a specific project, lease, easement, right…
The groups on this fight
2 groups are in on this fight
In on this fight means a link on this decision itself: the group's own regulations.gov comment on it, or a case filed over it naming the group. Give straight to them; nothing routes through us.
- Center for Biological Diversity
In on this fight · linked
Filed its own comment on this decision on August 10, 2026.
Their comment on regulations.gov ↗ - Ocean Conservancy
In on this fight · linked
Filed its own comment on this decision on August 10, 2026.
Their comment on regulations.gov ↗
Every group above is on STAND for Public Lands, with its court record, its filings and who backs it.
Who signs it
Matthew N. Giacona
Acting Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Where the notice says so
The ground
The window has closed, so there’s no watch to set on it here.
The photograph on this page: Open water on the Outer Continental Shelf off Virginia (BOEM photo). More Than Just Parks.
In court on this ground
This fight isn’t bound to a land unit in PLAN’s record yet, so there are no court cases to show for its ground.
Who holds the vote
PLAN’s record doesn’t tie a member of Congress to this fight yet. The scorecard grades the votes and bills that decide public lands; nothing joins a vote or a bill to this decision, so there’s no member to name here without guessing.
See how your members vote ↗Know an open comment period we are missing, or spotted a wrong deadline? .
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