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NASA commissioned a safety review of the two companies it has recruited to send astronauts to the International Space Station, a multi-month long evaluation that would involve hundreds of interviews to assess the culture of the Workplaces, announced the agency.
The review, expected to begin next year, will focus on Boeing and SpaceX, contracted companies for NASA's astronaut pilots, and "anything that could affect safety" as companies are preparing to fly humans for the first time, William Gerstenmaier, NASA's Associate Administrator for Human Exploration, said in an interview with the Washington Post.
The review was motivated by the recent behavior of SpaceX's founder, Elon Musk, according to three officials familiar with the probe, after taking a glass of marijuana and drinking whiskey on a podcast on the Internet. Some have spoken at the highest levels of NASA and have pushed the agency to closely examine the corporate culture, said officials.
NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs declined to comment on what prompted the review. But in a statement, he said it would "ensure that companies comply with NASA's requirements for workplace safety, including respect for a drug-free environment."
NASA's director, Jim Bridenstine, said in an interview that the agency wanted to ensure that the public has confidence in its manned flights program, particularly at the approach of the first flight scheduled for next year.
"If I see something inappropriate, the main concern for me is what culture has led to this inadequacy and what NASA is involved in," he said. "As an agency, we do not just lead ourselves, we also lead our subcontractors, we have to show the American public that when we put an astronaut on a rocket, it will be safe."
Bridenstine said he had "a lot of confidence in the SpaceX team". But he added that "culture and leadership are starting at the top, and anything that might challenge the culture of security needs to be addressed immediately."
SpaceX said in a statement that "manned spaceflight is our company's core mission, and SpaceX is no more important than this company, and we take seriously the responsibility NASA has given us to transport safely and reliably American astronauts, the International Space Station ".
The company said it's been working alongside NASA for years. And that it "actively promotes workplace safety, and we are confident that our comprehensive programs of manpower and drug-free work programs exceed all applicable contractual requirements".
Boeing said in a statement that its corporate culture "ensures the integrity, safety, and quality of our products, people, and work environment." As a trusted partner of NASA since the beginning of manned space flights, we share the same values and are determined to continue our efforts. " legacy of trust, openness and mission success ".
The journal comes after a tumultuous period for Musk, whose behavior has led to a series of scandals.
Two months ago, Musk agreed to resign as chairman of Tesla's board of directors and pay a $ 20 million fine as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission , who had accused the lawyer of lying to investors when he had tweeted that he had "secured funding". take the private electric car company.
Musk caused another outcry when he called a "pedo" and a "child rapist" without evidence, a rescue volunteer working to rescue children caught in a Thai cave. The volunteer sued Musk for defamation.
Until the security review, SpaceX however had not been affected by the controversies, which had allowed another successful year. So far, it has been launched 18 times – a record comparable to that of last year – and announces that it is about to launch NASA's astronauts.
Gerstenmaier said the review would not focus on the technical details of the development of rockets and spacecraft, but rather on the corporate safety culture, encompassing all the number of hours worked, the drug policies, management and leadership styles and consideration of employees' safety concerns. seriously.
"Does culture reflect an environment that builds quality spacecraft," said Gerstenmaier. The review would be led by NASA's Office of Security and Insurance Mission, which has conducted similar investigations within NASA. Gerstenmaier said the process would be "fairly invasive," involving hundreds of interviews with employees at all levels of the company and at several work sites.
He added that "companies are responsible, if they see something, they will take action."
The review comes as the two companies are working on crewed missions from US soil for the first time since the withdrawal of the space shuttle seven years ago. In 2014, NASA awarded contracts – $ 4.2 billion to Boeing and $ 2.6 billion to SpaceX – to fly its astronauts as part of what is called the "Space Program". commercial crew ". Since then, companies have had to face setbacks and delays in the development of their spaceship.
Earlier this year, Boeing had a booster leak during a test of his emergency abandonment system. A safety advisory committee has also recently discovered that Boeing still has a number of key tests that have not yet been completed, including tests of the heat shield and parachute systems of its spacecraft.
He also found that SpaceX was struggling with "difficulties and problems" with the parachute system of the probe. "It's clear that the crew can not be risky without total confidence in the design of the parachute," said the panel.
In view of the problems encountered by the two companies, the committee concluded that their schedules for flying the crews "involve considerable risks and do not seem feasible given the number of technical problems still to be solved".
These technical problems are distinct from the safety review. And SpaceX said it has made real progress in developing the version of its Dragon spacecraft designed to steal humans. "We could not be more proud of what we have already achieved with NASA, and we look forward to returning the US to manned space flight capabilities," the statement said.
SpaceX plans to launch its unmanned spaceship in January and plans to fly with astronauts on board by June 2019.
Boeing has announced that its first unmanned flight will take place in March 2019 and with astronauts next August.
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