FAA proposes fine against SpaceX over unapproved launch plan changes

Agency says company conducted launches using it changes it hadn’t approved yet

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon capsule and a crew of four private astronauts, lifts off from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Sunday, May 21, 2023. (AP Photo/John Raoux) (John Raoux, Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – The Federal Aviation Administration wants to fine SpaceX for allegedly failing to follow license requirements for two 2023 launches from Florida locations.

The FAA is proposing $633,009 in civil penalties. SpaceX has 30 days to respond to the FAA once it receives the notifications.

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The agency said SpaceX used a new launch control room for a mission on June 18, 2023, and did not conduct a required T-2 hour poll. SpaceX had submitted requests to make the changes to its license to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in May, but the FAA had not approved the request by the time of the June launch.

Then on July 28, 2023, SpaceX used an unapproved rocket propellant farm for its EchoStar XXIV/Jupiter launch from Kennedy Space Center. SpaceX submitted the request to use the newly constructed propellant farm as part of its explosive site plan that month to the FAA, and the request had not been approved yet.

The FAA is proposing $350,000 in civil penalties for the June 2023 incident, and $283,009 for the July 2023 incident.

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