Business Times by Chris Liu 9/18/2024
Elon Musk's SpaceX is preparing to file a lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), alleging "regulatory overreach," following a series of fines imposed by the agency. The fines, which total more than $630,000, stem from alleged safety violations during two SpaceX launches in 2023. This legal confrontation underscores the ongoing tension between the aerospace giant and federal regulators as SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of commercial space travel.
Background on the DisputeThe FAA announced earlier this week that it had identified three safety violations related to SpaceX's PSN SATRIA mission in May 2023 and the EchoStar XXIV/Jupiter mission in July 2023. These violations, according to the FAA, involved SpaceX proceeding with unauthorized changes to its launch protocols despite explicit warnings from the agency not to do so.
In the first instance, SpaceX reportedly utilized an unapproved launch control room and omitted a critical pre-launch readiness poll before the PSN SATRIA mission. For the EchoStar mission, SpaceX allegedly used an unapproved rocket propellant farm, which further violated the terms of its FAA-issued license.
The FAA has proposed fines of $175,000 for each of the violations during the June 18 PSN SATRIA mission and an additional $293,009 for the July 28 EchoStar mission. SpaceX has 30 days to respond to these allegations, either by contesting the fines or by providing additional information to support its actions.
More:
https://www.btimesonline.com/articles/169285/20240918/elon-musks-spacex-to-sue-faa-over-regulatory-overreach-amid-630-000-in-proposed-fines-for-launch-violations.htm
