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SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk. (John Raoux / AP)
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, scheduled to begin next year, will focus on Boeing and SpaceX, contracted companies to fly NASA's astronauts, and examine "anything that could affect safety" as companies prepare To pilot 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 founder Elon Musk, according to three officials familiar with the investigation, after he slapped marijuana and drank whiskey on a podcast broadcast on the Internet. Some have discussed it 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.
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"If I see something inappropriate, the main concern for me is what culture is causing this inadequacy and that NASA is involved," he said. "As an agency, we do not just lead ourselves, we also lead our entrepreneurs. We must show the American public that when we put an astronaut on a rocket, he will be safe. "
Bridenstine said he had "a lot of confidence in the SpaceX team". But he added that "culture and leadership start at the top. Anything that might call into question the culture of safety, we must fix it immediately. "
SpaceX said in a statement that "manned spaceflight is the main mission of our society. SpaceX is nothing more important than this company, and we take seriously the responsibility that NASA has given us to safely and reliably transport American astronauts to and from the International Space Station. "
The company said it has been working alongside NASA for years and that it "actively promotes workplace safety and we are confident that our comprehensive workforce programs and drug-free and workplace-free work programs exceed all applicable contractual requirements. "
Boeing said in a statement that its corporate culture "guarantees the integrity, safety and quality of our products, personnel and work environment." As a trusted partner of NASA since the beginning of manned spaceflight, we share the same values and we are committed to continuing our 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 to pay a $ 20 million fine as part of an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission , who had accused of lying to investors when he had tweeted that he had "got 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 last year – and claims to be about to launch NASA 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 the number of hours worked by employees , drug policies, leadership and management style, respect for employee safety concerns, and more.
"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 act. "
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 under the so-called "commercial crew" program. 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 it has not yet done, including testing of the heat shield and parachute systems of its spacecraft.
He also found that SpaceX was struggling with "difficulties and problems" with the spacecraft's parachute system. "It's clear that the crew can not be risky without total confidence in the design of the parachute," said the panel.
Given the problems faced by both companies, the committee concluded that their crew scheduling "entails considerable risk and does not seem feasible given the number of technical issues still to be resolved."
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 everything we have done with NASA, and we look forward to making manned flight capabilities in the United States," the statement said.
SpaceX plans to launch its unmanned spaceship in January and plans to fly with astronauts on board by June.
Boeing has announced that its first unmanned flight will take place in March and with astronauts next August.
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