Launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on March 14, 2021 (Photo: SpaceX)
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Friday that it is proposing a $175,000 fine against SpaceX for not submitting collision analysis trajectory data to the agency before an August Starlink launch.
The FAA said SpaceX was required to submit the data to the agency at least seven days before the Aug. 19, 2022 launch. SpaceX now has 30 days to respond to the FAA.
The FAA regulates commercial spaceflight in the U.S., licensing all U.S. commercial launches and reentries in the U.S. and abroad. The agency said this launch collision analysis trajectory data is used to determine how likely it is a launch vehicle will collide with the tracked objects orbiting the Earth.
Starlink is a constellation of satellites in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) that provides broadband internet service in areas where terrestrial options are unavailable or lacking. The service recently surpassed $1 million subscribers.
Last year, SpaceX performed a record 61 launches — nearly doubling from 31 launches in 2021. Of those launches, 34 were primarily Starlink launches.
This article was originally published by Via Satellite, a sister publication to Avionics International. Click here to read the original version >>