Science

NASA launching safety review of SpaceX because Elon Musk smoked pot

November 22, 2018 01:46·
The recent behavior of SpaceX founder Elon Musk has rankled some at NASA’s highest levels and prompted the agency to take a close look at the culture of SpaceX and Boeing people familiar with the matter said

The recent behavior of SpaceX founder Elon Musk has rankled some at NASA’s highest levels and prompted the agency to take a close look at the culture of SpaceX and Boeing people familiar with the matter said

NASA has ordered a review of workplace safety at SpaceX and Boeing, the two companies developing spaceships to ferry its astronauts to and from the International Space Station, in the wake of a video showing SpaceX CEO Elon Musk smoking pot and drinking whiskey on a YouTube talk show.

NASA did not give further details on the reasons behind the move, but the Washington Post, which first reported it, said the review was prompted by the recent behavior of SpaceX's founder Elon Musk.

SpaceX responded with a statement: 'Human spaceflight is the core mission of our company.

"We look at it in terms of, 'Could I work extra shifts or put extra people on it?'" said John Mulholland, vice president and program manager for commercial programs at Boeing's space exploration unit, about accelerating development of its vehicle at ISPCS.

Two months ago, Musk agreed to step down as chairman of Tesla and pay a $20 million fine as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which had charged that he lied to investors when he tweeted that he had "funding secured" to take the electric car-company private.

"Is the culture reflective of an environment that builds quality spacecraft", Gerstenmaier said.

The company added it "actively promotes workplace safety, and we are confident that our comprehensive drug-free workforce and workplace programs exceed all applicable contractual requirements".

In the years since, NASA has had to rely on Russian modules to send astronauts to the ISS, all of which launch from foreign soil.

These launches also allowed for the construction of the International Space Station - the largest structure in space, that's now home to a revolving crew of astronauts from all around the world, conducting important experiments that continue to advance our knowledge of the cosmos.

Both SpaceX and Boeing plan to launch their first unmanned flights of spacecraft that will eventually carry people to the ISS early in 2019, followed by the first crewed flights later in the year. Between the two flights, Boeing will perform a pad abort test. Boeing has also been placed under review with NASA citing general safety concerns. It's not yet clear whether the review could hold up the first crewed demonstration flights of SpaceX's Crew Dragon or Boeing's Starliner capsule. "Current projected schedules for uncrewed and crewed test flights for both providers have considerable risk and do not appear achievable", said Patricia Sanders, chair of NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), of the commercial crew program during an October 11 meeting of the committee.

SpaceX is planning to a launch its spacecraft without crew in January and plans to fly with astronauts on board by June 2019.

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