[Reading Science] Is Musk Holding Back US Space Development?

After Twitter Acquisition, Social Controversies Spread to SpaceX
Starship Lunar Lander Development Delayed Amid Various Regulatory Violations and Sanctions

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] "Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter does not affect SpaceX's contract fulfillment."

This was stated by Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator, on NBC on the 5th. The issue was the 'Musk-driven space development risk.' After Musk acquired Twitter, social controversies arose such as the dismissal of 7,500 employees and the restoration of former President Trump's account, and concerns rapidly spread that NASA's major projects entrusted to SpaceX might face problems. To dispel these concerns, the head of NASA personally stepped forward.

However, uneasy views that Musk could hamper the entire U.S. space development remain. SpaceX, founded by Musk in 2002, has since been recognized as leading the 'private-led space development,' that is, the New Space era. It received technical support by extensively scouting NASA personnel and grew by securing funding through large NASA contracts. Starting with the contract in 2014 to transport astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), SpaceX was also entrusted with developing the Starship lander to be used for the Artemis 3-4 missions scheduled for 2025-26. By commercializing the reusable Falcon 9 spacecraft, it has almost swept the space launch vehicle market. It is also leading the space internet market by launching over 3,500 Starlink satellites.

However, SpaceX has recently shown unstable signs, raising concerns that it may hinder NASA's lunar exploration and other space development plans. Above all, the delay in developing the Starship, which will serve as the lunar lander, is problematic. SpaceX signed a $2.9 billion contract with NASA in 2021 to develop a lunar lander using Starship. The Starship lunar lander plays a key role in humanity's second manned lunar landing mission in over 50 years. It is carried atop the Super Heavy rocket, waits in lunar orbit, docks with the Orion spacecraft launched by NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), lands on the moon, and returns to Earth. However, SpaceX postponed the planned orbital test flight of Starship originally scheduled for this year. The only flight so far was the initial test reaching an altitude of 10 km in May last year.

Besides developing and manufacturing the Starship spacecraft, there are other challenging tasks. To reduce the burden on the Super Heavy rocket, SpaceX plans to launch Starship into lunar orbit with its fuel tanks empty and then conduct 'the first-ever' refueling in space to use it for lunar landing and Earth return. Since this technology has never been attempted in the zero-gravity vacuum of space, some experts question its feasibility.

Musk's SpaceX is also facing numerous challenges both externally and internally, including U.S. government regulatory oversight and competition from similar industries around the time of the Twitter acquisition. Concerns have arisen that Musk's attention, previously focused on space development (SpaceX) and electric vehicles (Tesla), might become scattered due to efforts to revive Twitter. Additionally, astronomers and environmental activists oppose the plan to launch over 30,000 small Starlink satellites, arguing that it will generate satellite debris and cause significant harm to humanity.

In August, a subsidy of about $900 million applied for from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide broadband internet service to low-income and underserved areas was rejected. Musk has also frequently made statements on Twitter related to his company's capital increases, which led to a $20 million fine from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2018. In December 2020, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigated environmental pollution concerns at the Texas rocket launch site. Additionally, since the 16th of last month, SpaceX has been under investigation by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for allegedly unfairly dismissing eight employees.

There are also many worries that Musk, who has abused Twitter, has gained excessively great power. A representative example is Lockheed Martin, a major competitor of SpaceX and a frequent recipient of NASA contracts. On the 11th of last month, a fake Twitter account impersonating Lockheed Martin's official account posted a message stating, "We will not sell weapons to the U.S., Saudi Arabia, or Israel until further investigation into personnel breaches is conducted," causing the company's stock price to plunge by 5.48%. Similarly, the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly saw its stock drop by 4.45% the previous day after a fake tweet claimed that essential diabetes medicine insulin would be supplied for free.