The FAA is proposing a $175,000 civil penalty against SpaceX for failing to submit launch collision analysis trajectory data to the FAA prior to the launch of the Starlink Group 4-27 mission on August 19, 2022.
According to the FAA, SpaceX failed to provide that data for at least seven days after launch, and the company now has 30 days to respond to the FAA’s enforcement notice letter.
The FAA considers this SpaceX data to be critical because it is used “to assess the likelihood of a launch vehicle colliding with one of the thousands of tracked objects orbiting the Earth.”
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In fact, the FAA has had previous run-ins with SpaceX. For example, according to the Washington Post, SpaceX applied for an FAA policy waiver in 2021 to be allowed to “exceed the maximum public risk allowed by U.S. safety regulations” when launching prototype starships.
When the FAA denied it, SpaceX continued to move forward with its launch schedule, leading to an investigation and temporary suspension of operations at one of SpaceX’s launch sites. Ultimately, SpaceX resolved the issues found by the FAA, but it’s unclear whether the FAA is considering fining SpaceX.
Elon Musk also publicly attacked the FAA in 2021, saying that its space sector’s “regulatory structure is fundamentally dysfunctional” and blaming FAA inspections for SpaceX’s launch delays.
Tory Bruno, CEO of another airline at the time (United Launch Alliance), urged the FAA to enforce regulations so that all commercial space launch providers take the FAA’s safety precautions seriously during launches. “If any company violates the FAA’s safety rules and procedures, the FAA should respond strongly with a set of ‘deterrent penalties that will make them think twice before they act.
