FAA Threatens SpaceX With $175K Fine for Late Delivery of Starlink Launch Data
The Federal Aviation Administration is threatening to fine SpaceX $175,000 for failing to supply pre-launch data on time for an August Starlink mission.
The fine concerns an Aug. 19(Opens in a new window) SpaceX launch to send a batch of Starlink satellites into space. According to the FAA, the company should have submitted the “launch collision analysis trajectory data” to the agency seven days before the launch, but SpaceX failed to do so.
“Launch collision analysis trajectory data is used to assess the probability of the launch vehicle colliding with one of the thousands of tracked objects orbiting the Earth,” the FAA said(Opens in a new window) in a Friday announcement.
It looks like SpaceX did submit the trajectory data to the FAA—it just didn't occur seven days before the mission. "Although the FAA obtained and reviewed the information prior to launch, SpaceX failed to submit the data as required by the regulation(Opens in a new window)," the agency told PCMag.
The FAA has given SpaceX 30 days to respond to its enforcement letter(Opens in a new window). It notes the regulator could have fined the company up to $262,266 for the violation. However, the FAA settled on a lower penalty after reviewing the information contained in the investigative file.
The enforcement letter also indicates SpaceX could address the error by participating “in an informal conference with an FAA attorney and submitting information to the FAA for consideration.”
The FAA didn't say if this is a one-time mistake. SpaceX held 61 rocket launches last year, a new record and double the previous year. So it’s not hard to imagine SpaceX blaming the mistake on a clerical error that occurred during the accelerated launch schedule.
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