High Injury Rates at SpaceX Facilities Raise Concerns
According to a recent analysis of safety data, injury rates at SpaceX sites remained higher than the industry average in 2023. The data, provided to US regulators by SpaceX, reveals that some facilities reported even worse injury rates compared to the previous year.
For instance, SpaceX’s Brownsville, Texas facility saw an alarming 5.9 injuries per 100 workers, surpassing the 2022 rate of 4.8 injuries and well above the industry average of 0.8 injuries.
These findings come after a Reuters investigation uncovered over 600 unreported worker injuries in 2023, including severe consequences such as crushed limbs, amputations, and one fatality.
Safety experts warn that these high injury rates should worry SpaceX’s clients, particularly NASA, which has increasingly relied on SpaceX’s services.
Several experts have suggested that SpaceX’s ability to undercut NASA’s budget in launches may be due to cutting corners and risking failures in a way that NASA, being publicly funded, cannot afford.
The federal agency responsible for workplace safety, OSHA, did not respond to inquiries regarding SpaceX’s injury rates.
Despite these concerning figures, neither SpaceX nor its CEO, Elon Musk, have publicly addressed the company’s safety record in detail.
Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s chief operating officer, has stated that astronaut and personnel safety remains their top priority.
As concerns persist regarding safety standards at SpaceX facilities, stakeholders continue to call for greater transparency and accountability to ensure the well-being of workers and the success of space missions.
