Musk says SpaceX will sue FAA for "regulatory overreach"
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SpaceX's Polaris Dawn Falcon 9 rocket blasts off from of NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 10 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Elon Musk said Tuesday that SpaceX will be filing a lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration for "regulatory overreach."
Why it matters: The Musk-led aerospace giant has been knocked by air-safety regulators on multiple occasions, even as it becomes an increasingly prominent player in outer space.
Driving the news: SpaceX is facing upwards of $630,000 in fines after the FAA alleged Tuesday that the company violated launch requirements during two 2023 missions.
- In a post on X, Musk slammed the proposed penalty as "more lawfare."
- In a separate reply, the billionaire wrote, "SpaceX will be filing suit against the FAA for regulatory overreach."
Zoom in: In the first incident, a May 2023 launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, regulators said SpaceX used an unapproved launch control room and failed to conduct a pre-launch poll, the FAA said in a press release.
- In a July 2023 launch, the FAA alleged SpaceX used an unapproved rocket propellant farm as its fuel supplier.
- Both the May 2023 PSN SATRIA mission and the July 2023 EchoStar XXIV/Jupiter mission were commercial satellite launches.
What they're saying: "Safety drives everything we do at the FAA, including a legal responsibility for the safety oversight of companies with commercial space transportation licenses," FAA Chief Counsel Marc Nichols said in the press release.
- The statement continued: "Failure of a company to comply with the safety requirements will result in consequences."
- SpaceX did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Last week, SpaceX took aim at government regulations in a statement announcing the delay of a Starship test flight that read, criticizing the government's slow-moving licensing process.
- "This delay was not based on a new safety concern, but instead driven by superfluous environmental analysis," the company added.
Flashback: In February 2023, the FAA announced it was seeking to fine SpaceX $175,000 for failing to submit data on a Falcon 9 rocket's trajectory ahead of a launch the previous year.
Zoom out: In 2023, SpaceX broke its previous annual record for orbital rocket launches, checking off 96 successful missions, NBC reported.
- Just last week, a civilian SpaceX crew undertook the first ever commercial spacewalk while hundreds of miles above Earth.
What's next: SpaceX has 30 days to respond, the FAA's release stated.
Go deeper: Drama in space
