Injury rates at SpaceX facilities continued to exceed an industry average in 2023, according to a Reuters review of safety data reported to U.S. regulators by the space venture controlled by billionaire Elon Musk.
The 2023 records, newly disclosed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, also show that injury rates at some SpaceX facilities grew worse than those the company had reported in 2022. At its manufacturing-and-launch facility in Brownsville, Texas, for instance, SpaceX reported 5.9 injuries per 100 workers, surpassing its rate of 4.8 injuries in 2022 and topping a space industry average of 0.8.
The company’s high injury rate last year was the subject of a Reuters investigation that found at least 600 previously unreported worker injuries at the rocket and satellite company. Those injuries, Reuters found, led to crushed limbs, amputations, serious head injuries and one death.
