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Elon Musk's Extracurricular Antics Reportedly Spark a NASA Safety Probe At SpaceX (techcrunch.com)
The recent interview Elon Musk conducted with Joe Rogan, where Musk took one puff from a marijuana cigarette after a lengthy conversation around AI, social media and space, is prompting a NASA safety probe at SpaceX. The Washington Post reports that NASA was not amused with Musk's antics and has "ordered a safety review of SpaceX and Boeing as a response to the colorful chief executive's shenanigans," reports TechCrunch. From the report: In an interview, NASA associate administrator for human exploration, William Gerstenmaier, told the Post that the review will begin next year and would examine the "safety culture" of both Boeing and SpaceX. Rather than focus on the safety of the actual rockets, the Post said that the review would look at the hours employees work, drug policies, leadership and management styles, and the responsiveness of both companies to safety concerns from employees. The review is going to be led by the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance within NASA, which has conducted similar probes before, according to the Post report.
According to the NASA official, the process could be "pretty invasive," with the potential for hundreds of interviews with employees at every level and across all locations where the companies operate. At stake is the potential $6.8 billion in contracts the two companies received in 2014 to revive crewed missions to space. SpaceX grabbed $2.6 billion from NASA for the program, while the remainder went to Boeing. In a statement given to the Post, SpaceX said, "We couldn't be more proud of all that we have already accomplished together with NASA, and we look forward to returning human spaceflight capabilities to the United States."
According to the NASA official, the process could be "pretty invasive," with the potential for hundreds of interviews with employees at every level and across all locations where the companies operate. At stake is the potential $6.8 billion in contracts the two companies received in 2014 to revive crewed missions to space. SpaceX grabbed $2.6 billion from NASA for the program, while the remainder went to Boeing. In a statement given to the Post, SpaceX said, "We couldn't be more proud of all that we have already accomplished together with NASA, and we look forward to returning human spaceflight capabilities to the United States."
Boeing knows that hair testing their crew would be very ungood for them.
This is the feds smacking ol' Musky on the nose with a newspaper for stepping out of line. The last of the drug warriors haven't died off, but are butthurt as fuck.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
SpaceX has done what NASA and Boeing have been unable to do. The "fuck it" culture works, apparently.
That's a good idea, because Musk has a joystick that he uses to remotely pilot each launched rocket, and must always have his wits about him to insure that the rockets don't crash and burn. Sorry, but this is just a bit ridiculous on NASA's part.
Better known as 318230.
Why doesn't NASA open an investigation into itself to figure out who drinks alcohol...a more potent and dangerous drug.
Frankly, it's his/her body, and what they do with it off the clock is none of my fucking business. If they know the risks, I don't see this as worse than a doctor who rock climbs or races motorcycles as a hobby.
I will convict any fucking pot smoker to the death penalty.
By stoning?
Ezekiel 23:20
SpaceX is so far ahead with recycling rockets (= lower launch cost & better margins) that the incumbent rocket contractors appear to have pulled some strings to attempt to slow them down or discount them from the running. Someone needs breathing space to catch up.
In a better world you'd spend 100% of your time focusing on innovating and improving technology instead of wasting time fighting the status quo.
First of all: the drugs I take at time out of work, usually don't affect my work, as I sleep about 8h before I go to work. So, assuming a worker had made a mistake which causes a defect, under drugs, is obviously not very plausible. ... But where do you draw the line? Is coffee a drug? What about pain killers? It is not even a decade ago that it was common that vending machines inside of big companies sold beer to the staff (in Germany) ...
Secondly, to let a defect escape into production says that there is something wrong with the process. Regardless if the "cause" was a person under drugs. Perhaps all people in the chain of the process are under drugs?
Thirdly: consuming drugs at work, or working under influence of mind or body altering drugs obviously should be prohibited. No one likes a drunk plane pilot
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
WTF does SpaceX's safety have to do with Musk's state of mind? He has almost nothing to do with day-to-day operations.
This is political payback for something we haven't seen. Some senator is pissed with him, probably for something personal.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
If he smoked in a legal state and in a legal manner he was behaving.
Some states have legalized pot, but selling, using, and possession are still federal offenses.
The Federal government has several very public incidences of where it has broken *it's own* laws. Enough of the population use Cannabis to suggest that Federal law on this subject is about as antiquated as alcohol prohibition, it's beyond time to end it in all western countries.
Musk is a CEO, not a high school student. He needs to grow up.
I think that the real issue is that Musk has quite effectively shown that people's attitude towards cannabis needs to mature. So if we are going to have a grown up conversation it is reasonable to point out that both Tobacco and alcohol kill you (eventually) when used as directed.
Not that I mind a beer, however that should be the attitude towards Cannabis. No one ever gets into a tizzy about someone having a beer, you can even drive after one or two.
If we were having a really grown-up conversation we would be discussing how the prison guard union lobbies against ending its prohibition because it allows prison populations to be sustained so that they stay in work. Same with the Prison companies who want a cheap controllable work force constantly available.
Alcohol lobbyists are against ending cannabis prohibition because sales will go down, obviously, once people find out they can get wasted without having a hangover.
Rayon corporation are against ending cannabis prohibition because sales of artificial thread will go down.
There's more, these are the lobby points I remember off hand.
However the best one, if anyone remembers Citizen Kane, is a story loosely based on William Randolph Hearst who worked very hard to criminalize cannabis so that he would not have to bare the costs of replacing his printing presses around the US when paper manufacturers found that paper made from cannabis was cheaper to make and a better product than wood pulp paper. IIRC it also requires less chlorine to produce hemp paper, so perhaps a grown-up conversation about cannabis could include the damage to the environment its prohibition has indirectly caused.
In a way Musk has subtly shown that he isn't "that guy".
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
Three years later he got a stack of about four ring binders from the committee that followed up on his casual note. Skipping to the punch line, they concluded, "they can not mark them because updating the assembly and verification documentation would be too expensive".
Is there any wonder, SpaceX runs circles around NASA when it comes to efficiency?
Remember every dollar "wasted" by the government is a dollar earned by someone who did not deserve it. We know NASA wastes tons and tons of money. The defense contractors are getting it. That cash flow is getting threatened. They will retaliate like this.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact