Vandenberg

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a payload of 20 Starlink internet satellites into space soars across the sky after sunset above the Pacific Ocean after launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base on June 18, 2024, as seen from San Diego, California.

Karen Vandenberg, 64, a San Diego-based Uber driver, said that previously she might have been able to make $250 in a day before subtracting gas and other expenses.

“It was a long time that my car was out,” Vandenberg said.

Musk’s SpaceX company sued the commission last fall after commissioners rejected a bid to increase the number of rocket launches from the U.S. military’s Vandenberg Space Force Base near Lompoc.

The rocket was launched Feb. 1 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County and carried 22 Starlink satellites into orbit, according to a statement from POLSA.