SpaceX News: Company Wasn't Properly Testing Rocket Safety, Lawsuit Claims
UPDATE: 4:46 p.m. EDT — SpaceX said Wednesday a lawsuit filed by a former employee claiming wrongful termination is “without merit." Former SpaceX employee Jason Bladswell claimed he was fired two years ago after complaining that the company’s testing procedures were inadequate. A trial on the suit got underway Tuesday.
"The claims made in this case are without merit. SpaceX actively encourages employees to raise concerns at any time. In addition, our testing protocols are subject to continuous auditing by both in-house and outside auditors for AS9100 certification, by the Air Force for EELV certification, and by NASA as part of our ongoing contractual relationships. We deny these claims and will defend against them in court,” SpaceX said in a statement to International Business Times.
Original Story
A California jury may decide whether former SpaceX employee Jason Blasdell was wrongfully terminated in 2014 after voicing concerns over a lack of adherence to testing protocols for rockets and their parts.
Bloomberg reported Blasdell’s complaint, filed in state court two years after he was dismissed, says the managers at the company were pressuring those testing rocket parts to pass parts that hadn’t undergone proper testing. If true, this would be an extreme safety issue posed by SpaceX rockets.
Read: Snapchat Lawsuit Filed By Former Employee Moving To Federal Court
Blasdell claims he told his superiors about this flaw and his concerns were ignored. He alleges that when he brought the concern to SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, Musk said he would look into it but never followed up. A few months later, Blasdell was let go from his position testing parts of the Falcon 9 and Dragon rockets and crafts.
Blasdell’s lawyer said that as a concerned employee Blasdell was just doing his job and following proper procedure in reporting the issue, Bloomberg reported. He alleges that SpaceX made misrepresentations to the federal government (NASA and SpaceX work together) and didn’t properly conduct safety tests.
SpaceX has been launching rockets from NASA’s launch pads and is scheduled to conduct a resupply mission to the International Space Station for the space agency in June. Additionally, the company launched a satellite for the Department of Defense earlier this month.
Lawyers for SpaceX have denied the allegations, saying he isn’t a whistleblower and never even complained about unlawful testing or brought concerns to federal authorities, Bloomberg reported. The lawyers also said Blasdell was let go because of poor job performance and safety concerns about him voiced by other employees.
Since the complaint was filed, SpaceX and Blasdell's lawyers have been engaged in a back and forth legal battle but the case was underway Tuesday when lawyers made their opening statements. Blasdell was expected to continue testifying on Wednesday, reported Bloomberg.
In 2015 SpaceX faced a class action lawsuit that alleged hourly workers were forced to work overtime without compensation. Workers complained they were expected to clock out but continue working at the Hawthorne, California, company. Earlier this week the Guardian reported on poor working conditions at Tesla factories, Musk’s other highly successful venture. Employees have reported injuries and brutal working hours that resulted in a number of calls for ambulances to the factory.
International Business Times reached out to SpaceX but had not received a response at the time of this article.
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