NASA is involved in the development of oil in the Arctic Ocean

The federal agency that oversees offshore oil leasing has received surprise comments about drilling in the Arctic Ocean, NASA.

Alaska's Energy Desk reports that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management requested a comment while the Trump administration was considering selling a lease in 2019 in the Beaufort Sea.

In a letter from NASA, drilling rigs in the Beaufort Sea could be affected by launches from its only range of high-latitude rockets.

The Space Administration funds the Poker Flat search range outside of Fairbanks. The University of Alaska Fairbanks has been operating the range of high-latitude rockets for decades for decades.

"We are known for researching aurora," said Kathe Rich, director of Poker Flat.

Scientists launch rockets that cross the dawn and sometimes land at a great distance from the launch site.

"If we are looking for something far enough north, it will go into the Beaufort Sea or into the Arctic Ocean, one or the other," Rich said.

In April, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center sent a letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management saying that 70 pieces of rockets had landed in the Beaufort Sea since the 1960s.

NASA has expressed concern that the future exploitation of oil and gas in the Beaufort Sea could result in the need to protect more people and properties during launches.

While scientists are using better rockets nowadays, others could land in Beaufort, according to NASA.

It is extremely unlikely that rocket parts will break on oil rigs, Rich said. Scientists would not launch them if they thought people or infrastructure would be in danger. What is more likely is that more activity in the Beaufort Sea could limit research opportunities, Rich said.

"The lower area we have, it may look like putting on a needle with all the things we need to avoid," Rich said. "So whenever you have to add something, it can be avoided, it can reduce launch opportunities for us."

Rich is optimistic that NASA and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will reach an agreement. Research is important because auroras are like a visual manifestation of the sun's energy entering the upper atmosphere of the Earth. This energy can affect mobile phone communications or the power grid

Office spokesman John Callahan said by email that the agency would work with NASA to explore the best options.

"We are pleased that they have contacted us to talk about the security of operations in the Beaufort area," said Callahan. "It's a great example of good lines of communication between federal agencies here."