SpaceX has sharply criticized the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over recent allegations of safety violations, disputing the agency’s claims and calling its actions “highly irregular” and “unprecedented.”
In a letter dated September 18, 2024, SpaceX’s Vice President of Legal, David Harris, addressed members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, including Senators Maria Cantwell and Ted Cruz, and Representatives Frank Lucas and Zoe Lofgren. The letter comes in response to the FAA’s assertion that SpaceX violated its regulations, resulting in a proposed fine of $633,009.
The FAA alleges that SpaceX failed to conduct a required two-hour readiness poll before a launch, used an unapproved communications plan, and operated an unapproved RP-1 fuel farm during a launch.
SpaceX strongly denied these claims, arguing that none of the updates posed any risk to public safety. The company emphasized that they provided timely updates to the FAA and that the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) failed to process them efficiently.
The letter highlights that SpaceX submitted a revised communications plan, which the FAA took 110 days to approve without requesting any modifications. The company questioned the FAA’s delay in reviewing and approving changes that had no impact on safety.
SpaceX also criticized the FAA for taking several months to approve the use of its new RP-1 fuel farm, despite the farm being moved to a safer location more than twice the distance from the nearest public area.
In his closing remarks, Harris reiterated SpaceX’s commitment to safety in all operations and expressed concerns about the FAA’s regulatory inefficiencies, stating, “SpaceX forcefully rejects the FAA’s assertion that it violated any regulations.” The company argued that the FAA’s actions are detracting from its primary focus of ensuring public safety in commercial space launches.
The dispute between SpaceX and the FAA highlights broader concerns about the FAA’s ability to keep pace with the fast-evolving commercial space industry.
“The @FAANews leadership spends their resources attacking @SpaceX for petty matters that have nothing to do with safety, while neglecting real safety issues at Boeing. This is deeply wrong and puts human lives at risk,” responded SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
“NASA deemed the Boeing capsule unsafe for astronaut return, turning, out of necessity, to SpaceX, yet instead of fining Boeing for putting astronauts at risk, the FAA is fining SpaceX for trivia!” added Musk. “Enough is enough,” he said, pointing to SpaceX’s reply to the FAA.
It’s pretty absurd that Boeing safe issues are not even brought to light, yet SpaceX and its innovations are being held back by the FAA. Get out of the way government, a Mars landing is coming.
