A ruling by the Georgia Supreme Court might have ended efforts to build a commercial spaceport near Cumberland Island National Seashore/NPS file

A Georgia Supreme Court ruling upholding the right of Camden County voters to oppose a land purchase for a commercial spaceport that would send rockets over Cumberland Island National Seashore might have signaled the death knell for the proposal.

The Camden County Board of Commissioners has for years pushed the project, and spent an estimated $10 million in doing so, seeing the spaceport as a moneymaker for the county, one that could both attract commercial space flight companies and tourists interested in craning their necks as a launch arcs through the sky. The commission hoped to site the spaceport on 4,000 acres once owned by Union Carbide.

Some county residents, though, opposed the purchase of land where munitions and pesticides were manufactured, and successfully ran a petition drive to put the land acquisition purchase question to a vote. The referendum last March resulted in nearly three-quarters of the roughly 6,000 county residents who turned out opposing the purchase. That outcome prompted the commissioners to sue the judge who approved the referendum. 

After losing an appeal at the Superior Court level, the commission pursued the matter before the Georgia Supreme Court. In its ruling last week (attached below), a unanimous Supreme Court said the county had no position to challenge the referendum, and that Probate Judge Robert Sweatt ruled correctly on allowing the referendum and affirming its results. 

In a statement following the ruling the commission said "[T]he future of Spaceport Camden remains a decision of the Camden County Board of Commissioners and as such will be discussed at a future meeting.”

The ruling was hailed by Wild Cumberland, a nonprofit organization that works to preserve the natural ecosystem of Cumberland Island.

“Wild Cumberland is relieved that the Georgia Supreme Court upheld results from the Camden County voters’ referendum in March of 2022," said Jessica Howell-Edwards, Wild Cumberland's executive director, in an email. "It’s important to remember, however, that even though local voters were able to stop this land deal — the FAA did authorize a launch site operator’s license in 2021. The FAA issued this license despite environmental and safety risks; proximity to a federally-protected Wilderness; and overwhelming public opposition. This seems to suggest that Wilderness is merely a part-time designation that may be superseded by the interests of private stakeholders at any time.”

As proposed, the spaceport would be located just 4-5 miles west of the national seashore. Accessible only by boat, the national seashore features unspoiled beaches and dunes, marshes, and freshwater lakes, along with historic sites. Twisting live oaks covered in resurrection ferns and spanish moss make up the island's maritime forest, shading an understory of sable palms and palmettos. Facing the mainland, the island gazes across mudflats during low tide and swaying marshes.

Concerned onlookers, which range from the National Park Service to private landowners on Little Cumberland Island at the northern end of the national seashore as well as Camden County taxpayers who see the spaceport as a tremendous waste of taxpayer dollars, have a range of fears.

There's the possibility of rockets failing in launch and crashing down on the seashore or Little Cumberland Island; air quality concerns; noise pollution; hazardous wastes; and logistical impacts to the seashore staff.

The proposed flight trajectory from the spaceport would take rockets over Cumberland Island's official and proposed wilderness areas/FAA final EIS

With the flight path passing over the seashore's wilderness area, would backcountry travelers have to be banned during launch windows? What would the Park Service's responsibility be in terms of keeping people out of the area below the flight path? How would the seashore be impacted by "a catastrophic failure"?

"Such a failure or mishap could have long-term effects on the island, potential impairment to the island's natural and cultural resources, and major consequences for enjoyment of the island by future generations," the Park Service said in its initial comments to the proposal, a list that ran to nearly three dozen concerns.

Unlike other communities along Georgia's 100-mile-long coast that have developed thriving tourist communities on their barrier islands, Camden County can't fully leverage its barrier island economically because it's home to the national seashore and off-limits to tourism infrastructure. 

The Federal Aviation Administration last spring issued an operating license for the facility. That decision has been the subject of a lawsuit filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of the National Parks Conservation Association and One Hundred Miles, a nonprofit conservation organization with a mission of protecting and preserving Georgia’s 100-mile coast through advocacy, education, and public engagement. The challenge argues that the FAA lacked key information on the facility’s operations and failed to properly evaluate its impacts on public health, private property, and the environment.

While NASA long has handled space launches for the United States, recent years have seen the rise of private rocket companies that see a profit to be made in taking on at least some of NASA's workload, and commercial spaceports have surfaced to support those companies. Camden County is just one of the latest communities to explore the possibilities of a spaceport. Other entities in Florida, Texas, New Mexico have looked into spaceports, and Virginia is an official partner with NASA at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island.

According to The Pew Charitable Trusts, “the commercial space industry is worth $345 billion globally,” and while there might not currently be a need for commercial spaceports around the country, those behind proposals such as Camden County’s are betting on the future.

Past Traveler stories on the proposed Camden Spaceport:

Lawsuit Challenges FAA License For Spaceport Near Cumberland Island National Seashore

Decision On Spaceport Near Cumberland Island Not Likely Final

FAA Grants License For Spaceport Near Cumberland Island National Seashore

Rockets Over Cumberland Island National Seashore Raise Concerns