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The U.S. Wants to Turn Abandoned Oil Rigs Into Spaceports

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18.07.2026

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The U.S. Wants to Turn Abandoned Oil Rigs Into Spaceports

So what if some fishes’ lives are ruined.

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The U.S. government sounds like it took a huge bong rip and dared ask the question no one really cared to ask or even wanted answered: What if America’s abandoned offshore oil rigs became rocket launch pads?

As reported by The Washington Post, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management recently requested public feedback on whether inactive oil and gas platforms in federal waters could be repurposed for commercial space launches, spacecraft re-entry, and recovery operations. No official policy has been proposed yet, and there’s no clear indication that plans of any kind are moving forward, but the simple act of requesting public feedback reflects the acknowledgment of a growing need to........

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