1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,800 Hi everybody and welcome back to the Elon Musk podcast, where we 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:09,000 discuss all things Elon Musk, SpaceX, Tesla, and the future of 3 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:10,920 tech. I'm your host, William Walden. 4 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:14,480 In today's episode, we're zooming in on a burning issue, 5 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:19,520 the tension between SpaceX and the US government, especially 6 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:23,440 the FAA. SpaceX has had an explosive 7 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,480 year, launching rockets at a staggering rate and turning the 8 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:29,880 space industry on its head. However, the government seems to 9 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:33,720 be playing catch up, struggling to issue licenses and regulate 10 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:37,720 this game changing activity. Is this regulatory lag hampering 11 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:41,920 Spacex's ambition and by extension, the future of 12 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:45,560 American space exploration? Now let's kick things off by 13 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:47,600 talking about Spacex's flight rates. 14 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:51,440 It's been launching rockets more than 70 times this year, about 15 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:55,240 once every four days, which is shaking the foundations of the 16 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:58,670 Space Flight industry. SpaceX is clearly operating at 17 00:00:58,670 --> 00:01:00,430 warp speed, but there's a hiccup. 18 00:01:00,790 --> 00:01:02,230 The government seems to be lagging. 19 00:01:02,910 --> 00:01:06,190 Spacex's vice president of build and reliability expressed his 20 00:01:06,190 --> 00:01:10,030 concerns and plans to voice them at a Senate hearing this week. 21 00:01:10,510 --> 00:01:14,270 The goal is to press Congress to simplify regulations and hire 22 00:01:14,270 --> 00:01:17,830 more Federal Aviation Administration staff for license 23 00:01:17,830 --> 00:01:20,070 issuance. Now here's the kicker. 24 00:01:20,350 --> 00:01:24,630 SpaceX is not just concerned about the speed, but also the 25 00:01:24,630 --> 00:01:27,230 volume. With other industry players 26 00:01:27,230 --> 00:01:31,710 stepping in, they anticipate a specific and significant 27 00:01:31,790 --> 00:01:34,470 industry problem. The government's slow pace might 28 00:01:34,470 --> 00:01:37,670 be a choke point, preventing the private sector from soaring to 29 00:01:37,670 --> 00:01:39,910 new heights and launching more frequently. 30 00:01:40,350 --> 00:01:44,150 It's not just SpaceX this could impact the entire Space Flight 31 00:01:44,150 --> 00:01:46,470 industry. Now consider the case for 32 00:01:46,470 --> 00:01:49,950 Spacex's inaugural Starship flight last April. 33 00:01:50,390 --> 00:01:53,870 It had to be terminated due to uncontrolled tumbling, resulting 34 00:01:53,870 --> 00:01:58,150 in an FAA investigation. And the FAA demanded 63 35 00:01:58,150 --> 00:02:01,510 corrective actions for SpaceX, delaying further Starship 36 00:02:01,510 --> 00:02:04,830 launches, a tug of war between private innovation and public 37 00:02:04,830 --> 00:02:07,390 regulation. And that's kind of how it 38 00:02:07,390 --> 00:02:10,870 worked. For now, SpaceX officials have 39 00:02:10,870 --> 00:02:13,310 reported that they spent two years securing the initial 40 00:02:13,310 --> 00:02:16,030 Starship launch license. It had been waiting months for 41 00:02:16,030 --> 00:02:19,510 the second Tim Hughes, who's Spacex's senior vice president 42 00:02:19,510 --> 00:02:22,420 for global business and government affairs, mentioned 43 00:02:22,420 --> 00:02:24,460 this. SpaceX is eager to fly, but is 44 00:02:24,460 --> 00:02:26,300 waiting for the government to catch up. 45 00:02:26,740 --> 00:02:29,060 According to Hughes, if a company can build a rocket 46 00:02:29,060 --> 00:02:32,420 faster than it can be regulated, something is going on. 47 00:02:33,260 --> 00:02:36,740 Hughes suggested the need for regulatory reforms to address 48 00:02:36,740 --> 00:02:39,460 this imbalance. Now this brings us to another 49 00:02:39,460 --> 00:02:41,860 salient point, NASA's involvement. 50 00:02:42,100 --> 00:02:47,380 In 2021, NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to use 51 00:02:47,380 --> 00:02:51,060 Starship for its Artemis program, and given the national 52 00:02:51,060 --> 00:02:54,900 importance, SpaceX officials argue that such projects should 53 00:02:54,900 --> 00:02:58,740 be prioritized by the FAA. One would expect such a venture 54 00:02:58,740 --> 00:03:02,580 to be fast track Now. It's no secret that Elon Musk 55 00:03:02,580 --> 00:03:06,540 has been critical of regulators now specifically targeting the 56 00:03:06,540 --> 00:03:11,420 FAA for its slow pace. In late 2020, SpaceX launched A 57 00:03:11,420 --> 00:03:15,140 Starship prototype in violation of its FAA license. 58 00:03:15,500 --> 00:03:18,780 Musk made his opinions clear through his tweets, stating that 59 00:03:18,780 --> 00:03:21,980 the FAA's existing rules are not suited for an industry. 60 00:03:22,220 --> 00:03:26,660 It's so drastically different from what it was just a decade 61 00:03:26,660 --> 00:03:29,340 ago. Recent interactions between Musk 62 00:03:29,340 --> 00:03:32,620 and the senior FAA officials were described as cordial and 63 00:03:32,620 --> 00:03:36,340 productive, yet the FAA is yet to comment on the matter. 64 00:03:36,580 --> 00:03:39,340 They have, however, mentioned the keeping up with the industry 65 00:03:39,340 --> 00:03:41,140 is a challenge they're willing to rise to. 66 00:03:41,500 --> 00:03:44,420 Despite the bureaucracy, it seems like there's room for 67 00:03:44,420 --> 00:03:48,400 improvement and perhaps a middle ground where both parties can 68 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:50,240 meet. And according to the FAA 69 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:53,600 officials, the agency has been requesting additional resources 70 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,400 for years but has seen little action. 71 00:03:56,640 --> 00:04:00,080 Currently, they've reallocated all resources from Spacex's 72 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,640 other programs to focus on the next Starship launch. 73 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:06,640 This means Falcon projects are on hold for the moment, 74 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:10,600 showcasing the strain that the FAA is experiencing in keeping 75 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:16,160 up now forecasting the future. The FAA license just 15 launches 76 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:23,640 in 2015, and that number is expected to reach 288 by 2027. 77 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:27,840 With SpaceX planning on as many as 12 launches a month next 78 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:31,720 year, and new rockets from ULA and Blue Origin on the horizon, 79 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,880 the demand for FAA oversight will only multiply over time. 80 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:39,280 If not addressed now, the problem could spiral into 81 00:04:39,280 --> 00:04:43,630 something unmanageable now. SpaceX expressed that the 82 00:04:43,630 --> 00:04:46,670 current situation is jeopardizing not just to them, 83 00:04:46,950 --> 00:04:49,790 but also US leadership in spaceflight. 84 00:04:50,070 --> 00:04:52,710 The regulatory approach is clashing with the pace of 85 00:04:52,710 --> 00:04:55,550 innovation, putting a damper on the industry's future. 86 00:04:55,830 --> 00:04:59,390 However, he emphasized that the goal is not to compromise public 87 00:04:59,390 --> 00:05:03,830 safety, but to find a way to move efficiently within that 88 00:05:03,830 --> 00:05:06,190 framework. So where do we go from here? 89 00:05:06,590 --> 00:05:09,070 It's a balancing act. Striking harmony between 90 00:05:09,070 --> 00:05:11,630 innovation and regulation is the need of the hour. 91 00:05:12,140 --> 00:05:14,900 Let's hope that the upcoming Senate hearing sheds a little 92 00:05:14,900 --> 00:05:18,180 bit of light on this issue and paves the way for constructive 93 00:05:18,180 --> 00:05:20,540 solutions. That brings us to the end of 94 00:05:20,540 --> 00:05:22,980 today's episode. Thank you for tuning in, and if 95 00:05:22,980 --> 00:05:26,100 you found this episode helpful, make sure to hit the subscribe 96 00:05:26,100 --> 00:05:28,260 or the follow button on whatever podcast platform you're 97 00:05:28,260 --> 00:05:30,780 listening on. It's free, only takes a second, 98 00:05:30,780 --> 00:05:34,860 and helps us out tremendously. Remember, each episode is about 99 00:05:34,860 --> 00:05:38,820 10 minutes or less, designed to help you quickly catch up with 100 00:05:38,820 --> 00:05:41,020 what's happening in the world of Elon Musk. 101 00:05:41,420 --> 00:05:43,460 Until next time, please take care of yourselves and each 102 00:05:43,460 --> 00:05:45,700 other and I will see you in the next one.