Bahamas revokes permission for SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets to land off its coast

A Bahamian government spokesman recently announced that permission to land the first stages of SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets in the country’s coastal waters had been revoked. Official reasons for the decision have not yet been disclosed.

On February 18, 2025, the first stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket landed on a barge off the Bahamas for the first time. Image Credit: SpaceX

According to sources, a possible reason for revising the agreement could be a recent emergency situation – during another test launch, SpaceX inadvertently destroyed the Starship spacecraft, creating a fire show in the skies over the Bahamas. Although the incident is not directly related to Falcon 9, it could attract the attention of authorities to the company’s activities in the region.

Landing Falcon 9 first stages on unmanned sea platforms off the coast of the archipelago allowed SpaceX to expand the range of possible launch trajectories. The first such landing took place in February 2025, and the company has used the area regularly since then. There have been no incidents involving landing stages or boosters.

But the sudden revocation of the permit has put those operations into question. As Bahamas communications director Latrae Rahming posted on social media site X, “no further permits will be issued until a full environmental review has been completed.”

Bahamian authorities had previously said that after the successful first landing they expected up to 19 similar operations using their territorial waters. Now those plans may be cancelled or revised – the future of the project remains uncertain.