THE SATELLITE COAST
The Satellite Coast is an interdisciplinary study of the socio-economic and cultural impacts of commercial satellite launching from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Lompoc, California. The project explores the history of satellite launching from this facility, most recently by SpaceX, and its role in supporting global LEO satellite internet services and media industries. The Satellite Coast project relies on mixed methods, including archival, geographic, and community-based research, to study the relationship between this satellite infrastructure site and the diverse human and more-than-human ecologies and cultures that surround it. The Vandenberg base sits on the lands of the Santa Ynez Band of the Chumash Indians. During the 20th century, the Lompoc area has been developed by agriculture, aerospace, military, prison, natural resource, and housing industries. Our work in fall 2023 includes archival, cartographic, and library research, site visits to Lompoc for preliminary research, documenting of SpaceX satellite launches, creating data visualizations, and meetings with various organizations and people in the Lompoc community.
Project team 2023-24: Lisa Parks, Ranna Zahabi, Kim Yasuda, Tara Plath
Project Gallery
Our data visualizations reveal significant increases in rocket and satellite launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base
The Lompoc area has been developed by agriculture, military-aerospace, prison, extractive, and housing industries.
