SpaceX bases its success on repeating, repeating and repeating. Only in the month of May there are six launches scheduled. But that’s not all, testing of engines and other components carried out at the company’s industrial complex in McGregor, Texas, is the order of the day. Therefore, it is not unusual that more than 150 citizens from South and Central Texas have sued Elon Musk’s company for damage to their homes.
Cracks in the walls and shattered glass. In total there have been two group demands. One of 80 South Texas residents and another that includes 77 people residing in the center of that same state. In all cases they complain about the damage caused by the shock waves from the SpaceX tests. Neighbors warn of cracked walls, broken window glass and continuous vibrations. One of the owners even claims that his house has suffered serious damage to the foundation..
A question of engines. The McGregor Test Center is the most active rocket engine testing facility in the world. That is where SpaceX tunes up the Raptor and Merlin engines that propel its ships into space. The problem is that they are very powerful motors, which are firmly connected to the ground.
For this reason, as they point out in one of the lawsuits, “kinetic and acoustic energy cannot be spent raising a vehicle into the atmosphere.” Rather, “it is propelled violently outward through two destructive paths: an acoustic wave that hits aboveground structures or a sustained seismic tremor from the ground that physically shakes the underground foundations of homes.”
Up to two million dollars. In total, each of the two lawsuits, filed in the 414th State District Court in Waco, asks for up to $1 million in compensation from SpaceX for damages to Texan neighbors. At the moment, Elon Musk’s company has not made any statements to the media.
From a city of its own to friction with neighbors. Initially, SpaceX advertised its facilities as a job and even identity opportunity for Texas residents. Your Starbase reached the category of cityfor all the people, many of them workers, who lived in the surrounding area. But what happened recently shows that, in reality, SpaceX has more and more detractors among people who live near its facilities. It is not for less. Seeing how the home that costs so much to obtain is in danger is not a dish of good taste for anyone.
From employees to neighbors. In recent times, SpaceX has also received many lawsuits from employees. To avoid them, the company has managed to be classified as an air transport company, since this allows it to be regulated under the Railway Labor Law and, in the process, make it much more difficult to file a complaint or carry out a strike. In short, Elon Musk’s space agency has given employees the slip, but can it do the same with its private Fuenteovejuna?
Image | MagnificentGage Skidmore
In Xataka | SpaceX is preparing the largest IPO in history: the fact that it is doing so right now is no coincidence
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings