FAA wants to impose more than $630K in fines for SpaceX launch violations

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) alleges that SpaceX committed three safety violations by failing to follow its license requirements during two of its space launches in 2023. If the full fines are imposed, SpaceX faces a bill of $633,009, according to an FAA statement.

The license violations are related to two separate SpaceX’s launches. The first two happened on June 18, 2023 as part of the PSN Satria Mission that launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The second violation happened on July 28, 2023 involving plans for the EchoStar XXIV/Jupiter mission.

Across the two cases, SpaceX requested to revise part of its communications and explosive site plans respectively. SpaceX allegedly went ahead with its revised plans even though the FAA did not approve or issue modifications to its license, according to letters written by the FAA.

In May 2023, SpaceX requested the addition of a new launch control room and the removal of the T-2 hour readiness poll from its procedures for its June 18, 2023 launch. The FAA informed SpaceX on June 15 and 16 that it would not approve the modifications to SpaceX’s license before its scheduled June 18 launch, but the launch went ahead with its unauthorized control room and without a T-2 hour poll. Two months later, SpaceX submitted a request for a newly constructed rocket propellant farm for its launch on July 28, 2023 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once again, the FAA did not approve the modification but the farm was used anyway during its scheduled launch.

SpaceX is facing two $175,000 fines for the June 18 violations and a $293,009 fine for the July 28 violation. SpaceX has 30 days to respond to the accusations in writing. The space company can choose to hold an informal conference with an FAA attorney or submit additional information to the FAA to plead its case. A full list of the FAA’s fine enforcement procedures are available on the administration’s website.

That hasn’t stopped SpaceX CEO and self-appointed “Technoking of Tesla” Elon Musk from sounding off about how he plans to address the FAA’s proposed fines. Musk posted on X that “SpaceX will be filing suit against the FAA for regulatory overreach.”