The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed fines totaling $633,009 against SpaceX for two instances of launching missions with unapproved changes in violation of its license and skipping a required step for launch. Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has threatened to sue the agency, claiming "regulatory overreach."
The FAA states that one set of fines, totaling $350,000, is related to a June 18th, 2023, launch in which SpaceX used an "unapproved launch control room for the PSN SATRIA mission" and skipped a required "T-2 hour readiness poll." The company had requested approval for the changes in May, but it was never granted.
Similarly, the FAA alleges that the company sought clearance for a new rocket propellant farm in July but did not wait for approval before launching the EchoStar Jupiter 3 communications satellite on July 28th, 2023. The agency has proposed a $283,009 penalty for this violation.
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.
SpaceX is known for its willingness to sue the government, having filed a complaint against the National Labor Relations Board earlier this year and a lawsuit against the federal government in 2019 over a contract it felt it should have received.