Elon Musk-founded spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX may have to pay more than $630,000 civil penalties, according to a Tuesday announcement from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Per its announcement, the FAA has proposed SpaceX pay $633,009 in penalties for allegedly failing to follow its license requirements during two launches last year. It explained that SpaceX first requested revisions to their launch procedures and then moved forward with the revised plans even though they were not yet approved by the FAA.
“Safety drives everything we do at the FAA, including a legal responsibility for the safety oversight of companies with commercial space transportation licenses,” said FAA Chief Counsel Marc Nichols. “Failure of a company to comply with the safety requirements will result in consequences.”
According to the FAA, the first launch occurred June 18, 2023.
That May, SpaceX requested to revise its communications plan related to its license to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. These revised plans included adding a new launch control room at Hangar X and removing the T-2 hour readiness poll from its procedures, the FAA explained.
Once June 18 rolled around, Space X allegedly used the unapproved launch control room for its PSN SATRIA mission, and did not conduct the required T-2 hour poll. For each of those penalties, the FAA proposed a $175,000 penalty.
Last July, SpaceX then submitted another request. This one was for revisions to the explosive site plan related to its license to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“The proposed revision reflected a newly constructed rocket propellant farm,” said the FAA. “On July 28, 2023, SpaceX used the unapproved rocket propellant farm for the EchoStar XXIV/Jupiter mission. The FAA is proposing a $283,009 civil penalty.”
The FAA said SpaceX has 30 days to respond to the FAA after it receives the agency’s enforcement letters. Afterwards, Musk – who is also CEO of Tesla – said that he planned to sue the administration for regulatory overreach in a post on X, a social media platform that he owns.
Last month, the FAA also grounded SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster rocket for the second time this year after it failed during a routine landing.