SpaceX dinged by FAA for failing to get mission changes approved

On Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed a set of fines that total $633,009 over what it says were two instances of SpaceX launching missions with unapproved changes in violation of its license, as well as skipping a required step for launch. In response, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk threatened to sue the agency on a claim of “regulatory overreach.”

The FAA says 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, the FAA says, but never got it.

Similarly, the company sought clearance for a new rocket propellant farm in July, but didn’t wait for approval before launching an EchoStar Jupiter communications satellite on July 28th, 2023, the agency alleges. The FAA proposes a $283,009 penalty for that.

From the FAA’s announcement:

“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.”

Musk took to X with a threat to sue the FAA over what he calls “regulatory overreach.” SpaceX isn’t shy about suing the government, having filed a complaint against the National Labor Relations Board at the beginning of the year over labor action it had taken. It also sued the federal government in 2019 over a contract that it felt it should have received.