A response to General Dickman’s Letter that was published in the Jacksonville Times-Union: Spaceport Camden launch would be safe and quick
Dear Editor,
We have a few questions for General Dickman about his Letter to this Editor supporting Spaceport Camden.
Of all people, General Dickman should know that Canaveral’s perfect launch safety record is because launches were postponed by his Range Safety Officer if a single boat entered the previously evacuated downrange safety zones at his spaceport. No public was ever intentionally put at risk. The US Coast Guard, who insured safety at Dickman’s Canaveral, has been asked to define the inshore and offshore coastal evacuation waters at Spaceport Camden. A question for the General is: If no one is allowed on a boat offshore, how can Camden allow campers, national park staff, private homeowners and their guests to remain directly under the trajectory closer to the launch site than a boat can get?
General Dickman’s bio omitted that he is a member of the Spaceport Camden Steering Committee. We suspect he knows that Spaceport promoters created the fiction of “Authorized Persons” because it’s unconstitutional for the FAA, Camden County, and the Coast Guard to interfere with private property owners use of their homes and property.
Authorized Persons was Camden’s attempt to allow private owners and their guests, Cumberland Island campers, and park personnel to remain in risky hazard areas during rocket launches. Authorized Persons would not be counted in the risk analysis that has ensured the perfect safety record mentioned in Dickman’s letter. Their plan was an illegal and immoral concept that was rejected by the FAA.
Another question for General Dickman: How will authorities make those people disappear?
Was General Dickman breaking news when he announced that the spaceport would now cater only to low-value small rockets? The public was sold on the idea of high-value launches for Blue Origin and SpaceX. We also suspect he knows that small commercial rockets have much poorer safety records.