NASA Urges SpaceX to Prioritize Safety Following Astronaut Health Issues
A SpaceX safety advisory panel advised the company to prioritize crew safety during its commercial trips to the International Space Station (ISS) after four astronauts ended up in the hospital recently.
At a meeting of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel last Thursday, Kent Rominger, a former astronaut and committee member, pointed out several recent issues with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon crew capsule, as reported by SpaceNews. SpaceX has been NASA's primary partner for years, launching numerous crews to the ISS with largely dependable equipment. However, these recent issues might be due to SpaceX's focus on launching missions at a quicker pace to maintain its industry dominance.
Rominger stated, "Given the recent incidents in the past few weeks, it's evident that operating safely requires meticulous attention to detail as hardware ages and the pace of operations increases. Both NASA and SpaceX must remain vigilant about safe Crew Dragon operations and not take 'normal' operations for granted."
NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 returned from the ISS shortly after, traveling back on a Dragon spacecraft. Following the spacecraft's splashdown off the coast of Florida on Friday, all four astronauts were taken to a hospital, with one crew member requiring an overnight stay. NASA did not disclose any additional information about the hospitalization or whether it was related to the Dragon splashdown.
SpaceX's reliable Falcon 9 rocket has faced a few setbacks this year as well. In September, the Falcon 9 rocket launched the Crew-9 mission, transporting NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to the ISS aboard the Dragon crew capsule. However, on its descent to land in the ocean, the rocket's upper stage experienced an unusual deorbit burn, causing it to miss its intended splashdown zone.
This incident led to SpaceX grounding its rocket for a third time in less than three months. In July, the rocket was unable to deliver its payload of satellites to orbit due to an upper stage malfunction. The incident grounded the rocket until the cause of the failed flight was identified around two weeks later, which was revealed to be an oxygen leak. A month later, the rocket's booster returned to Earth to perform a landing on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean after delivering 21 Starlink satellites to orbit, only to topple over once it reached the droneship and break apart, causing a large fire. The incident prompted the FAA to ground the rocket, but Falcon 9 was back to launching Starlink satellites three days later.
These issues for the popular Falcon 9 rocket are unusual, as it has had a nearly flawless record since its debut in 2010. SpaceX aims to break the record of 148 Falcon 9 launches this year, exceeding the 98 missions of 2023.
Rominger advised NASA and SpaceX during the safety panel discussion to "shun allowing the fast pace of operations to dull their judgment" and ensure that "the appropriate level of attention to detail and appropriate time and resources are devoted" to thoroughly investigating root causes and implementing corrective actions, as reported by SpaceNews.
As the industry favorite, SpaceX faces intense pressure to keep up with the rapidly increasing pace of commercial spaceflight, especially considering Elon Musk's often ambitious goals and timelines. The company may need to slow down to evaluate recent malfunctions and prioritize safety moving forward.
In light of Rominger's warnings, it's crucial for SpaceX to prioritize safety in its future space missions, ensuring meticulous attention to detail to prevent incidents that could compromise crew safety. The recent hospitalizations and Falcon 9's setbacks underscore the need for SpaceX to balance its pace of operations with safety considerations, especially as it aims to surpass its previous launch records in the future.
