US government concerned spaceship might collide with sharks - Musk
Elon Musk has mocked the US government's request for details on how his spaceships could potentially harm sharks or whales during splashdown. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
**SpaceX CEO Critiques Government Overregulation at Trump Rally**
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk addressed what he called government overregulation during a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Pennsylvania on Saturday. He shared anecdotes highlighting the challenges SpaceX faced with bureaucratic hurdles, particularly regarding environmental assessments for its spacecraft.
Musk described the situation where the company had to prove its ships wouldn't pose a danger to marine life, specifically sharks and whales, during splashdown events. He humorously recounted that SpaceX had to conduct a study “to see if the Starship would hit a shark,” which elicited laughter from attendees.
He remarked, “I’m like: ‘It’s a big ocean, there’s a lot of sharks. It’s not impossible, but it’s very unlikely.’” Musk expressed his willingness to meet the National Marine Fisheries’ conditions but sought relevant shark data for his analysis. However, he noted that the agency was unable to provide the data, stating, “And they said: ‘We could give the data to our Western division, but we don’t trust them’… Am I in a comedy sketch here?” Ultimately, Musk indicated that SpaceX succeeded in obtaining the necessary data to assure compliance.
The story didn’t end there, as Musk revealed that the federal government raised another concern about whales: “‘Well, what about whales?’ When you look at the picture of the Pacific, what percentage of surface area do you see as ‘whale’? Honestly, if the ship did hit a whale, the whale had it coming, because the odds are so low,” he joked, later confirming that “whales will be fine, too” after further analysis.
Musk articulated his frustration with “one crazy thing after another” in the regulatory processes, and expressed his concerns about overlapping jurisdictions among various government agencies. “We’ve got to stop this madness. Because we won’t be able to get anything done,” he lamented.
Recently, SpaceX achieved a significant milestone by successfully catching its rapidly-descending Starship booster rocket during a test flight, an advancement viewed as a crucial step towards making the booster fully reusable. However, Musk acknowledged that splashdown remains a more routine landing method.
Following an apparent assassination attempt on Trump in July, Musk publicly endorsed him, contributing tens of millions of dollars to his campaign. In response, Trump promised to create a Musk-led government efficiency commission to audit the federal government if he returns to the presidency.
Mathilde Moreau contributed to this report for TROIB News
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk addressed what he called government overregulation during a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Pennsylvania on Saturday. He shared anecdotes highlighting the challenges SpaceX faced with bureaucratic hurdles, particularly regarding environmental assessments for its spacecraft.
Musk described the situation where the company had to prove its ships wouldn't pose a danger to marine life, specifically sharks and whales, during splashdown events. He humorously recounted that SpaceX had to conduct a study “to see if the Starship would hit a shark,” which elicited laughter from attendees.
He remarked, “I’m like: ‘It’s a big ocean, there’s a lot of sharks. It’s not impossible, but it’s very unlikely.’” Musk expressed his willingness to meet the National Marine Fisheries’ conditions but sought relevant shark data for his analysis. However, he noted that the agency was unable to provide the data, stating, “And they said: ‘We could give the data to our Western division, but we don’t trust them’… Am I in a comedy sketch here?” Ultimately, Musk indicated that SpaceX succeeded in obtaining the necessary data to assure compliance.
The story didn’t end there, as Musk revealed that the federal government raised another concern about whales: “‘Well, what about whales?’ When you look at the picture of the Pacific, what percentage of surface area do you see as ‘whale’? Honestly, if the ship did hit a whale, the whale had it coming, because the odds are so low,” he joked, later confirming that “whales will be fine, too” after further analysis.
Musk articulated his frustration with “one crazy thing after another” in the regulatory processes, and expressed his concerns about overlapping jurisdictions among various government agencies. “We’ve got to stop this madness. Because we won’t be able to get anything done,” he lamented.
Recently, SpaceX achieved a significant milestone by successfully catching its rapidly-descending Starship booster rocket during a test flight, an advancement viewed as a crucial step towards making the booster fully reusable. However, Musk acknowledged that splashdown remains a more routine landing method.
Following an apparent assassination attempt on Trump in July, Musk publicly endorsed him, contributing tens of millions of dollars to his campaign. In response, Trump promised to create a Musk-led government efficiency commission to audit the federal government if he returns to the presidency.
Mathilde Moreau contributed to this report for TROIB News
