SpaceX Employee Injuries on the Rise
Employees at Elon Musk’s SpaceX facilities are experiencing injury rates significantly higher than the industry average. In 2023, SpaceX reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that injury rates at its Brownsville, Texas location reached 5.9 for every 100 employees. That’s higher than the 4.9 injuries per 100 it reported the year before at that location. Meanwhile, injuries at the company’s Cape Canaveral, Florida facility increased to 2.5, a steep rise from the 0.9 injuries per 100 it reported in 2022. The space industry’s injury average is just 0.8, according to Reuters.
Reuters also conducted an investigation late last year, which found that SpaceX has been dealing with workplace injuries since 2014. The publication found that there have been at least 14 serious injuries since it began its investigation, some of which include broken bones, concussions, amputations, and even one skull fracture.
SpaceX and OSHA did not respond to a request for comment from Quartz.
