A September podcast of SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk smoking weed has promoted NASA to conduct an extensive review of workplace safety at SpaceX and Boeing, two of its major commercial partners.
The news which first appeared on The Washington Post, says the reviews will require hundreds of interviews and are likely to take a long time.
NASA is currently working with both companies to develop spacecrafts that will take its astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS). However, it is not clear if the inquiries will derail the initial launches of the spacecrafts, which are scheduled for 2019. The reviews will start next year and will evaluate the culture of the workplaces of both companies, according to the space agency.
“NASA will be conducting a cultural assessment study in coordination with our commercial partners to ensure the companies are meeting NASA’s requirements for workplace safety, including the adherence to a drug-free environment. We fully expect our commercial partners to meet all workplace safety requirements in the execution of our missions and the services they provide the American people. As always, NASA will ensure they do so,” a NASA spokesperson said.
Top brass NASA officials were irritated by Musk’s weed-smoking forcing the agency to evaluate SpaceX. The Washington Post also said that the U.S. Air Force had started paying attention to Musk’s drug abuse behavior immediately after the podcast, in which he sipped whiskey and smoked marijuana.
NASA released a statement saying, “We are focused on safe and successful commercial crew missions to the International Space Station. In the coming months, prior to the crew test flights of Crew Dragon and Starliner, NASA will be conducting a cultural assessment study in coordination with our commercial partners to ensure the companies are meeting NASA’s requirements for workplace safety, including the adherence to a drug-free environment.”
Mr. Musk, who is also at the helm of electric-car maker Tesla, Inc. as CEO, has been under the spotlight throughout the year for bad reasons, including calling a British diver who led the Thailand cave rescue mission a ‘pedo guy’, and his August 7 tweets saying he was ‘considering taking Tesla private at $420.’
The Silicon Valley billionaire was forced to resign as Tesla chairman for a period of at least three years and asked to pay a fine of $20 million, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued him for misleading investors with his tweets.
In response to the latest inquiry, SpaceX released a statement saying, “human spaceflight is the core mission of our company. There is nothing more important to SpaceX than this endeavor, and we take seriously the responsibility that NASA has entrusted in us to safely and reliably carry American astronauts to and from the International Space Station.”
Boeing also issued a similar press release saying, “The culture at Boeing ensures the integrity, safety and quality of our products, our people and their work environments. NASA’s trusted partner since the beginning of human spaceflight, we share the same values and are committed to continuing our legacy of trust, openness and mission success.”