Before launching 53 Starlink satellites from Florida last August, SpaceX apparently failed to provide the necessary data to the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Now the FAA is proposing a $175,000 fine for not sharing that data within at least seven days of SpaceX’s launch.
According to the FAA, the missing SpaceX data is important because it will be used to “assess the likelihood of a rocket colliding with one of thousands of tracked objects that orbit the Earth.”
The FAA and SpaceX did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment.
SpaceX has been given 30 days to respond to the FAA Enforcement Notice.
The FAA has previously clashed with SpaceX over a seemingly reckless launch. For example, in 2021 SpaceX applied for an FAA waiver, asking for permission to “exceed the maximum public risk permitted by federal safety regulations” when launching prototype spacecraft, The Washington Post reported. . After the FAA denied the waiver, SpaceX went ahead with the launch anyway, resulting in an investigation and a temporary suspension of operations at one of SpaceX’s launch sites.
SpaceX eventually fixed the issues identified by the FAA, but it was unclear if the FAA was considering fining SpaceX.
In 2021, Musk was publicly critical of the FAA. tweet it FAA’s space division had a ‘fundamentally broken regulatory structure’ claim A delay in the FAA inspection delayed the launch time.
SpaceX seemed willing to break the rules in 2021, but that year, United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno told the FAA that all commercial space launch providers would be willing to comply with FAA safety measures during launch. urged to take it seriously and implement regulatory and licensing procedures. Bruno said the FAA must respond strongly with “a set of deterrent penalties that make them think twice” when companies violate FAA safety rules and procedures.
Now the FAA seems ready to take that advice, proposing civil penalties against SpaceX to ensure all launches meet the FAA’s deadline for sharing launch collision analysis trajectory data. increase.
