WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force is set to launch an environmental impact review for a novel military logistics project, proposing the construction of two landing pads on Johnston Island, a remote atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
The pads would support the reentry of vehicles under the Air Force’s Rocket Cargo program, an initiative led by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to harness commercial rockets and reentry capsules for rapid global cargo delivery.
In a notice scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on March 3, the Department of the Air Force will formally announce its intent to prepare an environmental assessment. The review will evaluate the effects of building and operating the landing pads on Johnston Atoll, where up to 10 reentry vehicle landings would be planned annually over four years. This testing phase aims to demonstrate and refine the capabilities of the Rocket Cargo program, which envisions delivering critical supplies to any point on Earth within hours.
The environmental review will involve collaboration with multiple federal agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Wildlife Refuge System, given the atoll’s status as part of the Pacific Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge. A draft of the assessment is expected in April, followed by a 30-day public comment period, offering stakeholders a chance to weigh in on the project’s implications.
Strategic foothold in the Pacific
The Air Force identified Johnston Atoll as the optimal site after evaluating several remote, government-controlled locations, including Kwajalein Atoll, Midway Island, and Wake Island. Johnston stood out as the only location meeting all operational criteria: it is remote, securable, U.S.-controlled, accessible by air or sea, and capable of supporting the barged removal of reentry vehicles. These requirements would align with the FAA’s Launch and Reentry Licensing Requirements, which prioritize public safety by mandating isolated landing zones for such operations.
Johnston Atoll, located about 700 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii, has a storied military past. Since the 1930s, it served as a hub for nuclear testing, missile defense, chemical weapons storage, and even an Air Force anti-satellite weapon test. Decommissioned in 2004, the atoll was handed over to the National Wildlife Refuge System, though remnants of its military infrastructure — including an airfield — persist.
Cargo reentry capsules
The Rocket Cargo program represents a bold step in military logistics, leveraging the burgeoning commercial space sector to shrink delivery timelines. Traditional airlift methods, while reliable, can take days to move cargo across continents. In contrast, AFRL aims to use space vehicles — such as reentry capsules dropped from rockets in flight — to achieve same-day delivery. Companies like Inversion Space, Outpost, Sierra Space, and Varda Space are developing such capsules. Launch providers like SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and Blue Origin hold Air Force contracts to demonstrate these capabilities.
One scenario would be a rocket launches into orbit, releases a cargo-laden reentry vehicle, and the vehicle glides back to Earth, landing precisely at a designated site like Johnston Island. Pending environmental approval, Air Force hopes to begin testing this year, using the Johnston landing pads to validate the technology’s feasibility and safety.