SAN DIEGO — Four astronauts returning from humanity’s first crewed lunar flyby in 53 years will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on April 10 — and the City of San Diego wants to make sure they pay their fair share.
In a memo quietly posted to the city’s website late Friday, the San Diego Parking Authority announced that the Orion spacecraft’s planned splashdown site falls within a newly designated “Coastal Aquatic Parking Zone,” and that NASA will be assessed a $75 landing fee, with an additional $12 per hour if recovery crews take longer than expected.
“We understand this is the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since 1972,” said city spokesperson Dana Whitmore. “We also understand that the Pacific Ocean off our coastline is a premium location, and premium locations come with premium rates.”
NASA mission commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — who have spent nearly 10 days traveling 695,000 miles around the Moon — were reportedly told of the fee via a laminated notice attached to their recovery vessel.
“They went around the Moon,” said a Navy recovery diver, who asked not to be named. “They came back. And the first thing we had to tell them was, ‘Hey, so San Diego charges for this now.'”
The decision has drawn comparisons to the city’s controversial paid parking rollout at Balboa Park, its $10 beach parking fees, and the proposed empty homes tax — leading many locals to suggest San Diego has simply given up pretending it won’t charge for anything.
City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera defended the policy. “Look, if you’re going to park a 20,000-pound spacecraft in our ocean, you need to pay like everyone else,” he said. “We also need the revenue. Have you seen our sidewalks?”
NASA has reportedly counter-offered with a bobblehead of the crew and two good seats behind the Padres’ dugout.
At press time, the city was exploring whether the Moon itself could be assessed a view tax.
