Power failed at SpaceX mission control before September spacewalk by NASA nominee

Shift4 Payments

17/12/2024 20:44

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      Power outage caused SpaceX to lose ground control of
spacecraft
    

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      Outage raises concerns about private space mission
disclosures
    

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      Isaacman's ties to SpaceX may pose conflicts of interest
at NASA
    

  
    By Marisa Taylor and Joey Roulette
       WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (REUTERS) - A September power outage
at a California facility of SpaceX, the space venture of
billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, caused a loss of ground
control for at least an hour during a mission that included the
first private spacewalk in history, according to three people
familiar with the problem.
    The spacewalk, part of SpaceX's five-day Polaris Dawn
mission, was carried out by private astronauts including Jared
Isaacman, a fellow billionaire and longtime Musk partner who is
now nominated by incoming President Donald Trump to be
administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, or NASA. 
    The outage, which hasn't previously been reported, meant
that SpaceX mission control was briefly unable to command its
Dragon spacecraft in orbit, these people said. The vessel, which
carried Isaacman and three other SpaceX astronauts, remained
safe during the outage and maintained some communication with
the ground through the company's Starlink satellite network. 
    "Not having command and control is a big deal," one of the
people familiar with the problem told Reuters. "The whole point
of having mission operators on the ground is to have the ability
to quickly respond if something happens." 
    SpaceX and Musk didn't respond to questions from Reuters
about the incident. 
    The outage raises questions about the disclosure of mishaps
by private space companies and whether conflicts of interest
could mar the ability of NASA and regulators to weigh their
significance at a time when key figures from the sector,
including Musk and Isaacman, are poised for prominent positions
in the upcoming Trump administration. In their proposed roles –
Isaacman running NASA, Musk at the helm of a government
efficiency commission – both men could have significant sway
over agencies that regulate and transact with SpaceX and other
private space operators. 
    Reuters couldn't determine whether SpaceX notified the
Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses space launches,
about the outage. A second person familiar with the incident
said SpaceX did notify NASA, particularly because the same type
of spacecraft was to be used weeks later in a mission involving
NASA astronauts. SpaceX, the person said, told the agency the
problem had been resolved quickly and wouldn't be an issue in
future missions. 
    NASA officials have said they maintain close contact with
SpaceX about its missions because of the agency's frequent work
with the company. Spokespeople at NASA and the FAA didn't
respond to Reuters' questions for this story
    At present, safety standards for private space missions
aren't regulated by U.S. law and private operators aren't
required to disclose mishaps in orbit because of a moratorium
approved by Congress in 2004. The moratorium, designed to
protect business interests in the highly competitive sector and
renewed periodically by Congress, is criticized by some experts
because it limits the ability of regulators to investigate
problems that could have implications for the safety and
operability of the entire industry.
    Disclosure is needed "so companies throughout the industry
can know what's going on and mitigate or prevent a similar
incident," said Douglas Ligor, a senior social scientist at the
RAND Corporation, a California-based think tank hired by
Congress last year to study the moratorium. Congress is expected
to renew the moratorium before its current extension expires in
January.
    The September outage, the people familiar with the problem
told Reuters, occurred when a leak in a cooling system atop a
SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California, triggered a power
surge. The surge knocked out mission headquarters, disabling the
ability of operators to send commands or perform controls that
would normally be standard during a spacecraft's mission. 
    The outage also hit servers that host procedures meant to
overcome such an outage and hindered SpaceX's ability to
transfer mission control to a backup facility in Florida, the
people said. Company officials had no paper copies of backup
procedures, one of the people added, leaving them unable to
respond until power was restored. 
    Reuters couldn't determine the precise timing or duration of
the outage. Two of the people familiar with the problem said it
happened sometime before the Sept. 12 spacewalk and that at
least one hour passed before power was restored. Had mission
control remained offline, they said, the astronauts had enough
training to control the spacecraft themselves.
    A month before the Polaris Dawn launch, Musk responded to an
Isaacman post about the mission on X, Musk's social media
platform. "This is an historic mission," Musk wrote. "Everything
possible must be done to ensure astronaut safety." After the
spacewalk, the first conducted by astronauts not part of a
national space program, the feat was widely hailed as a
milestone in commercial space exploration. 
    Since then, Musk has grown increasingly outspoken about
government interference in the private sector and touted his
plans, as the head of Trumps' planned efficiency commission, to
slash federal regulations. Reuters reported earlier this week
that Trump's transition team wants to scrap car-crash reporting
requirements opposed by Tesla, Musk's electric-vehicle company
 TSLA.O . The efficiency commission's decisions could impact
NASA and the FAA, a regulator frequently criticized by Musk and
SpaceX as a hindrance. 
    Isaacman, for his part, as NASA administrator would be
running an agency that has awarded more than $15 billion in
contracts to SpaceX, a company with whom he has had extensive
business dealings. In addition to funding two missions in which
he has participated as a SpaceX astronaut, Isaacman is the chief
executive and controlling shareholder in Shift4 Payments, a
technology firm he founded that in turn owns shares in SpaceX,
according to regulatory filings. 
    The size of Shift4 Payments' stake in SpaceX at present
isn't clear because the Musk venture is privately held and
doesn't disclose financial or ownership details. In its 2021
annual report, Shift4 Payments said it had invested more than
$27 million by then in SpaceX. Shift4 Payments  FOUR.N  has also
said SpaceX is a client.  
    Shift4 Payments and Isaacman didn't respond to Reuters'
requests for comment.
    In a public statement after Trump announced his NASA
nomination earlier this month, Isaacman said he would step down
as Shift4 Payments' chief executive if his appointment, which
must be confirmed by the Senate, succeeds. He said he would
retain most of his company stock, "subject to ethics
obligations," but reduce his voting power as a shareholder,
according to a copy of the statement filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. 
    Even if confirmed for the NASA job, Isaacman's extensive
links to SpaceX could remain a source of concern for some. If he
retains those ties, it "could pose conflicts of interest
including with respect to safety," said Cary Coglianese, an
expert on public administration and law at the University of
Pennsylvania.

 (Additional reporting by David French. Editing by Paulo Prada.)