SpaceX has sharply criticized the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), accusing the agency of ineffective oversight of rocket launches. The company sent a letter to the US Congress in which it stated the FAA’s inability to keep pace with the development of the commercial space industry. The appeal follows the FAA’s proposal to fine SpaceX $633,009 for violating regulations on two Falcon 9 launches in 2023.
Image source: Spacex
The company published an open letter addressed to the US Congress, in which it stated: “For nearly two years, SpaceX has expressed its concerns about the FAA’s inability to keep pace with the commercial spaceflight industry.” The company said: “It is clear that the agency not only does not have sufficient resources to process licensing applications in a timely manner, but also directs its limited resources to areas unrelated to public safety.” SpaceX argues that this approach directly threatens national priorities and undermines American industry’s ability to innovate.
The letter was sent to four key lawmakers, including Sen. Maria Cantwell of the Democratic Party and Rep. Frank Lucas of the Republican Party, who chair the science committees in the Senate and House of Representatives. SpaceX criticized the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST), the FAA division responsible for overseeing rocket launches. The company said AST had failed to modernize and streamline its rules due to a lack of resources and misuse of existing powers.
The criticism of SpaceX follows the FAA’s proposal to fine the company $633,009 for failing to comply with launch regulations on two Falcon 9 rocket flights in 2023. Despite the relatively small fine, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he plans to file a lawsuit over allegations that political considerations are forcing the FAA to over-regulate his company.
In a four-page letter, SpaceX refutes the FAA’s basis for imposing the fine. The company insists it followed all regulatory requirements and that AST was too slow to respond to minor changes to Falcon 9 launches. “With respect to these issues, it should be noted that in each case, SpaceX provided AST with sufficient notice of these relatively minor license updates that did not did not affect public safety. The fact that AST was unable to process these minor updates in a timely manner highlights systemic issues within AST,” the company claims. These changes, according to SpaceX, concerned minor technical adjustments that do not affect the overall safety of space launches.
SpaceX appears to be escalating its conflict with the FAA, calling on Congress to intervene. The company argues that the regulator’s ineffectiveness threatens the competitiveness of the American space industry in the world. SpaceX completed a record 87 orbital launches in 2023, representing a significant share of the world’s total of 186 successful orbital launches during that period. The FAA declined to comment. However, the agency’s general counsel, Marc Nichols, said: “Safety drives everything we do at the FAA. There will be consequences for a company’s failure to comply with safety requirements.”