The U.S. Space Force made the request on SpaceX's behalf because the company launches equipment for the Department of Defense.

"(With) federal agencies it's much more of a negotiation and a thing of equal powers dynamic," Cassidy Teufel, deputy director of the commission, said during the meeting.

Federal agencies negotiate agreements with the commission about such plans, but ultimately, Teufel said, the commission's approval is not required.

"If the commission were to reject, the federal agency could still decide to move forward," he said.

Although SpaceX is a privately owned company, the Defense Department has argued that all the launches from Vandenberg — including those solely for the company's benefit — are "federal agency activity" or done on behalf of the agency.

About 25% of SpaceX rocket launches from the base are carrying Department of Defense payloads, said Space Force Col. Bryan Titus, operations vice commander at the base.

The vast majority of the rockets, however, are ferrying satellites into orbit to support SpaceX's private Starlink network, which provides internet services.

Officials with SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Despite the private financial benefit to SpaceX, Titus argued that all of the rockets launched by the company were a benefit to the Defense Department, including its ability to rapidly increase its capacity to launch more rockets.

"I could argue that all launches that SpaceX does support the Department of Defense and our partners and allies," he said during the meeting. "Starlink has been absolutely critical in the situation in Ukraine."

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