On April 23, Beijing time, according to data disclosed by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the space company controlled by billionaire Elon Musk, continued to exceed the industry average in 2023.
A high facility injury rate, an indicator of the number of injuries a worker has had over a period of time, is a way for companies to measure their own safety standards, and if this number is high, it means that not only are companies not implementing strict measures to avoid accidents, but the quality of their products is not guaranteed.
Exterior view of the SpaceX factory
The latest data also shows that injury rates at some SpaceX facilities have worsened from 2022. For example, at its manufacturing and launch facility in Brownsville, Texas, SpaceX reported an injury rate of 5.9 per 100 workers, surpassing the 4.8 in 2022 and also higher than the space industry average of 0.8. Last year, the company's high injury rate was the focus of a Reuters investigation that found at least 600 unreported worker injuries at Rocket and Satellite. According to Reuters, the injuries resulted in crushed limbs, amputations, severe head injuries and one death.
Security experts say the high injury rate should be a cause for concern for SpaceX customers, including NASA. The federal space program has become increasingly reliant on SpaceX in recent years, and as of 2022, at least $11.8 billion has been paid to the company for various contracts.
"NASA should be concerned about the quality of the work," said David Michaels, a former OSHA administrator and now a professor at George Washington University. He added that the high injury rate could be "an indicator of poor production quality".
Workers working at SpaceX
Reuters calculated the latest injury rate based on data released by OSHA last week. The 2023 data is the most complete SpaceX has ever provided, with the company reporting injuries from eight major facilities, three more than in 2022. In the years leading to this, SpaceX had not reported any data for most of its sites, including manufacturing, launches, and other facilities.
In a division searching for rocket boosters in the Pacific, SpaceX reported an injury rate of 7.6 per 100 workers last year, more than nine times the industry average.
SpaceX火箭
Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's chief operating officer, reposted a video on social media in March of testing an emergency parachute in the Florida company's field. She commented on the video on the social media company X, writing that "the safety of astronauts and personnel is SpaceX's top priority."
[Source: Phoenix Technology]