In 2023, injury rates at SpaceX facilities continued to surpass industry averages, according to a Reuters review of safety data submitted to U.S. regulators. The space company, managed by billionaire Elon Musk, recorded increasing injury figures compared to previous years. For example, the manufacturing-and-launch site in Brownsville, Texas, reported an injury rate of 5.9 per 100 workers, up from 4.8 in 2022, and significantly higher than the space industry’s average rate of 0.8.
A recent investigation by Reuters revealed that there were at least 600 worker injuries at SpaceX that had not been reported previously, resulting in severe accidents including crushed limbs, amputations, serious head injuries, and one fatality. Despite multiple requests, SpaceX has not commented on these findings.
The high incidence of injuries has raised concerns among SpaceX clients, including NASA, which has increasingly depended on SpaceX for its space missions. In fact, NASA had awarded SpaceX contracts worth at least $11.8 billion by 2022. David Michaels, a former administrator at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and now a professor at The George Washington University, suggested that high injury rates might indicate poor production quality.
Neither NASA nor OSHA responded to requests for comments regarding SpaceX’s injury rates.
OSHA’s recent data release, which is the most comprehensive to date from SpaceX, included injury reports from eight major facilities—three more than the previous year. One of these units, involved in retrieving rocket boosters in the Pacific Ocean, reported an alarming rate of 7.6 injuries per 100 workers, more than nine times the industry average.
Despite the concerning figures, neither SpaceX’s founder Elon Musk nor its COO Gwynne Shotwell have extensively addressed the company’s safety record. However, in March, Shotwell shared a video on social media showing emergency chute tests, commenting that ensuring the safety of astronauts and personnel remains SpaceX’s top priority.