FAA fines SpaceX for launch violations, sparking criticism from Musk

The Federal Aviation Administration is seeking to fine SpaceX $633,009 for allegedly failing to comply with launch regulations, drawing online criticism from Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of the spaceflight company who Donald Trump is considering appointing to fight regulations in a Trump administration.

The FAA alleges that SpaceX bypassed several safety measures the company agreed to when it previously applied for launch licenses, according to enforcement letters posted by the agency on its website. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon. Musk, responding to the post about the X fines, appeared to suggest that his company was being unfairly targeted by regulators, responding with “more lawfare.”

The FAA says the penalties are intended to ensure the company’s operations are safe.

“Safety is at the core of everything we do at the FAA, including our legal responsibility to oversee the safety of companies licensed for commercial space transportation,” FAA Chief Legal Counsel Marc Nichols said in a statement.

The agency’s proposed fines are based on technical issues. It alleges that SpaceX used an unapproved launch control room without conducting a required readiness test during the June 18, 2023, launch, resulting in a proposed civil penalty of $350,000. The remaining $283,009 in proposed penalties stems from the use of an unapproved rocket fuel storage facility for a different mission a month later.

The two penalties are in addition to an earlier $175,000 penalty for failing to provide regulators with “collision avoidance trajectory data” during a satellite launch in 2022, which the FAA confirmed was later paid by the company.

Musk has expressed interest in serving on Trump’s “government efficiency commission,” which would aim to eliminate wasteful regulation and spending.

He has frequently clashed with regulators and shareholders while pursuing his various business interests. In 2022, Musk was sued for Tesla’s investment losses after a public tweet in which he claimed he had secured financing to privatize the electric vehicle maker, though he was later found not liable in the matter. The SEC also investigated him over his acquisition of Twitter, now called X.

Musk has been widely critical of federal regulations governing the commercial spaceflight industry, which he says are too slow and stifle innovation.

During a speech at the All-In Summit in Los Angeles last week, Musk said his company was waiting for regulatory approval for the next flight of its Starship rocket, the company’s largest and most powerful rocket to date.

“It really shouldn’t be possible to build a giant rocket faster than paper can move from one desk to another,” Musk said. Musk has said he wants Starship to reach Mars in 2026, as part of his aspiration for humanity to “become a spacefaring species.”

Industry magazine Space.com reported that approval for the next Starship flight is not expected until the end of November.

“If we can improve the pace of regulation, we can move much faster,” Musk said. “It’s not about allowing something to be dangerous, it’s about making something safe faster than building a rocket, not slower.”

The issue of regulating the private space industry It also caught the attention of Republican senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida, who portrayed the issue as part of a geopolitical competition with Russia and China to develop the best space technology.

In a letter sent Tuesday to FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker, Rubio and Scott wrote that unspecified “industry stakeholders” have reported significant difficulty obtaining a launch or re-entry license under the new rules because of “overly detailed, burdensome, and often restrictive requirements.”

According to OpenSecrets, Rubio has reported that several top defense contractors that develop space technology, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and RTX, have made campaign contributions to him.

“The FAA’s licensing schedule must keep pace with commercial space activity, and we cannot allow governance issues to give China an advantage in the race to return to the moon,” Rubio and Scott wrote.