SpaceX has responded to the announcement of $633,000 in fines from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for alleged safety violations during two Florida launches last year.
In a letter to leaders of the relevant Congressional committees that manage commercial space activities and their subsequent regulation, SpaceX informed the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transport (AST) of what it labels as “relatively minor license updates, with no bearing on public safety” with sufficient notice that the FAA should have been able to process the changes long before any alleged violations took place.
SpaceX also reiterated its commitment to safety multiple times in the letter. This is borne out by its very long record of conducting launches safely, not only in terms of the general public’s safety but also the safety of the operational launch pads in Florida and the federal facilities they are within.
Recap of Proposed Fines
To recap, the FAA proposed fines for what it deemed as violations of SpaceX’s launch licenses:
- That SpaceX operated a launch using an unapproved communications plan for the June 18, 2023 PSN MFS Satria launch.
- The launch was conducted from the company’s new launch control center at HangarX on Roberts Road at KSC rather than their previous LCC located adjacent to the Space Florida’s offices just outside the security gates at the south end of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
- That the company did not conduct required launch readiness polling two hours prior to the PSN MFS Satria launch.
- That the company operated an unapproved propellant farm for launch from LC-39A.
Communications Plan / Launch Control Center Move
In response, SpaceX stated that they had given adequate notice of the communications plan changes and that the FAA was unreasonably slow in processing the submitted changes. The company noted that it had sent the revisions on May 2, 2023, that it asked for feedback and progress updates on several occasions and that when the FAA stated there were “too many [changes]” for it to complete the review of the new plan by the targeted date.
In response, SpaceX states that they submitted a greatly simplified plan revision that changed only the LCC location. They add that the FAA failed to review this new plan by saying that “SpaceX had not provided it with enough notice” — despite the original plan being submitted some six weeks earlier.
T-Minus Two Hour Launch Readiness Poll
The FAA alleged that SpaceX did not conduct a required readiness poll at the T-minus two-hour mark for the PSN MFS Satria launch on June 18, 2023.
SpaceX’s reply was simple: there is no requirement in the regulations for a two-hour poll and that it conducted the necessary readiness poll later in the countdown prior to propellant loading on the launch vehicle.
Propellant Farm
In their notification of the proposed fines, the FAA stated that SpaceX utilized an unapproved propellant farm at Launch Complex 39-A prior to the Echostar 23 launch.
SpaceX states that it moved the propellant farm to a safer location inside the security perimeter of LC-39A (while KSC is secured, the launch pads are fenced with a higher level of security within) the pad area. They also noted that the move had been approved by Federal Range Safety authorities prior to its first use, and finally that the FAA approved a waiver for this move less than a month later prior to the Crew-7 launch.
They also point out that the FAA is “on console” (in the launch control loop) for these launches and despite the company using an “unapproved” propellant farm that the FAA raised no objection and allowed the launch to proceed.
SpaceX Implies The Need For Congressional Intervention
By sending their responses to Congress, it is clear that SpaceX is deeply frustrated at the pace the FAA is processing launch licenses and license updates. They say as much when they say that “for well over a year now, SpaceX has voiced its concerns with the FAA’s inability to keep pace with the commercial space industry.”
Without saying so in the letter, it is also clear that SpaceX is calling on Congress to act, either by providing the FAA with more resources to process launch licenses in a more timely manner, or to streamline the license process in order for it to move faster, or most likely, both.
Whether Congress will act on this remains to be seen.
SpaceX’s September 18 Letter
For those interested in reading the letter SpaceX counsel sent to Congress:
Note: letter was retrieved from SpaceX’s X account on September 19, 2024.
Note: this article was originally published in Talk of Titusville by the author.
