In the United States, all institutions and companies that operate flying vehicles must comply with the requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Most of these entities have cordial relations with the agency — but the same cannot be said for SpaceX and Elon Musk.
The latter, known for his taste for rapid innovation and his visceral hatred of regulations, recently announced his intention to sue the FAA, which he accuses of abusing its power.
When SpaceX snubs the regulator
According to Ars Technicathis affair began in June 2023, with the launch of a Falcon 9 tasked with deploying an Indonesian communications satellite. To supervise the operation, the company used a brand new control room located at the famous Kennedy Space Center. The problem was that this infrastructure had not been approved in advance by the FAA, which normally must validate each element of the launch device.
SpaceX had made the request more than a month earlier, as per procedure. But the FAA, which is not known for its responsiveness, informed SpaceX that it would not be able to approve these changes before the scheduled launch date of June 18. The company decided to proceed with the launch anyway without waiting for the green light.
According to Ars Technica, another incident also took place a month later. Ahead of the launch of another vehicle (this time a Falcon Heavy), SpaceX reportedly used a new rocket fuel production facility — equipment that had also not been validated by the FAA.
In the process, SpaceX reportedly requested an update to its launch authorization to reflect this change in program. Again, the agency explains that it told SpaceX that it would not be able to perform this procedure before launch; but the company proceeded with the launch anyway despite this warning.
A penalty that fuels recurring friction
Following these two provocations, the FAA announced its intention to fine SpaceX $633,009, while giving it 30 days to justify itself. For the company, whose value is estimated at more than $250 billion, this is an anecdotal sum, and one could therefore expect it to pay the bill without flinching. But that was without counting on Elon Musk, who has a complicated relationship with the institution.
As a reminder, the controversial billionaire has regularly railed against this obligation to submit to these administrative procedures, which he considers cumbersome and counterproductive. This is not surprising, given his pronounced taste for rapid innovation. These differences have sometimes generated some friction — notably in the case of Starship, the mega-rocket that SpaceX is currently developing.
Elon Musk has often said that he wants to chain together the launches of the different prototypes as quickly as possible in order to bring his revolutionary vehicle to maturity as quickly as possible. The problem is that each launch must be covered by an FAA flight license. For vehicles that have already proven themselves, these licenses can cover multiple takeoffs. But in the case of the Starship, which remains an experimental vehicle in the development phase, the FAA decided to move forward step by step; each of the licenses granted to the vehicle only covered a single test flight.
Therefore, with each new attempt, the company had to show its credentials by submitting a new application, then patiently wait for the precious sesame before being able to take off. A process that tends to take several months… and to make the big boss lose patience. Last week, he notably accused the FAA of delaying the development of the Starship ” for unreasonable and exasperating reasons “And these frictions are not going to go away anytime soon.
Lawyers join the dance
Right now, SpaceX is waiting for its license for the fifth Starship test flight. This is a very important deadline, because for the first time ever, the company will attempt to recover some elements of this launcher designed to be fully reusable. But recently, the FAA announced that it would not decide until the end of November — two months after the date initially planned, and five months after the last test flight of the craft.
In this context, the prospect of being fined seems to have made Musk lose his cool. Recently, he announced his intention to launch a legal action against the FAA, which he claims is guilty of excessive zeal. SpaceX to sue FAA for overregulation ” he posted on X/Twitter.
This kind of procedure is likely to cost SpaceX much more than the initial penalty. But for Musk, it’s no longer about money: it’s a way of lobby federal authorities for more leeway.
It remains to be seen whether this move will have the desired effect, because such a kick in the anthill could also come back to haunt him. If Musk does take action, it would not be surprising if the FAA postpones issuing the next flight license again, while it handles this process with its notoriously small staff…
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