Row 25715

Row ID: 25715 | Dataset Entry | Axioma AXP Content Repository

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This page contains data entry 25715 from the Axioma AXP content repository. The structured data below represents the complete record for this entry.

Oh, that one. That’s actually pretty largely been called out, everything in the copy below this is written and calculated not by me, but better than I ever could:

​

>*“Through interviews and government records, the news organization documented* ***at least 600 injuries*** *of SpaceX workers since 2014.”*

**Misleading.** First of all, what they claim to be injuries throughout the article are actually injuries AND illnesses. What do they themselves admit at the end of the article, when people have already formed their opinion on this topic:

​

>The data used to calculate the SpaceX rates also included a small number of illnesses.

And besides that, how bad is 600 for a company the size of SpaceX? Reuters repeated this figure 5 times in their article, but failed to provide any clear comparison. So I [estimated](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RheeHZXFAMEmGmnLATwYY62y__13UqX2wESsye48zz8/) the change in the number of SpaceX employees in 2014-2022 and calculated how many injuries and illnesses they would have if they exactly repeated the industry average. For the “guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing” industry ([NAIC 336414](https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=336414)) in which SpaceX classifies itself, I came to the figure **\~460**.

But this subset does not include the countless number of subcontractors who, although they represent only \~20% of the entire space industry workforce, have a strong impact on workplace safety as they have statistics 2-3 times worse than the main subset. And since we all know that SpaceX is trying to do everything in-house, I also calculated the average value for the entire space industry and came to **\~540**. I also calculated the US average and came to a value of **\~1800**.

So here is what it looks like: “at least 600 injuries and illnesses” at SpaceX for 2014-2022 represent **at least 10% above the average for the space industry, but still 3 times less than the US average**.

​

>Since LeBlanc’s death in June 2014, which **hasn’t been previously reported**,..

**Dead wrong.** This accident was [reported](https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/accidentsearch.accident_detail?id=63750.015) to OSHA the next day and was [covered](https://web.archive.org/web/20140816103408/https://www.kxxv.com/story/25884562/spacex-employee-dies-in-workplace-accident) by local media another day after (this fact was easy to find out just by [searching](https://www.google.com/search?q=spacex+employee+died&source=lnt&tbs=cdr%3A1%2Ccd_max%3A10%2F31%2F2023) on Google). The subsequent OSHA investigation was also [covered](https://web.archive.org/web/20150501120905/http://www.krgv.com/news/local-news/SpaceX-Fined-for-Safety-Violations/32609346) by the media.

​

>The lax safety culture, more than a dozen current and former employees said, stems in part from Musk’s disdain for perceived bureaucracy and a belief inside SpaceX that it’s **leading an urgent quest to create a refuge in space from a dying Earth**.

**Misleading.** SpaceX's [mission](https://www.spacex.com/mission/) is to “make humanity multiplanetary", which implies that people will live on two planets, rather than just escape from one to the other. Musk's closest quote with the Reuters’ claim is: *"Eventually the Sun is going to expand and engulf Earth. It is for sure going to happen –* ***but not any time soon****."* The time frame we are talking about is [about 250 million years](https://www.science.org/content/article/earth-s-future-supercontinent-may-be-too-hot-most-mammals), so you don't have to pack your bags just yet.

​

>The data for 2022, which are more complete, reveal injury rates at three major SpaceX industrial facilities that far exceeded the **space-industry average...** **The average was 0.8 injuries per 100 workers for 2022** and has been relatively stable for many years.

**Incorrect.** The Reuters investigator claims that the value of 0.8 is the average for the entire space industry, while in reality it consists of three subsets: “Guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing” ([NAIC 336414](https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=336414)), “Guided missile and space vehicle propulsion unit and propulsion unit parts manufacturing” ([NAIC 336415](https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=336415)) and “Other guided missile and space vehicle parts and auxiliary equipment manufacturing” ([NAIC 336419](https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=336419)). The values for 2022 [are](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RheeHZXFAMEmGmnLATwYY62y__13UqX2wESsye48zz8/edit#gid=435553397) 0.8 / 1.2 / 1.4 respectively, while the average values for 2014-2022 are 0.7 / 1.4 / 1.9 respectively. For the space industry as a whole, the numbers for 2022 and the average for 2014-2022 are both close to 0.9. The US average is 3.0 for 2022 and 3.1 for 2014-2024.

Values for individual facilities are highly variable and can be misleading, which people have already [noticed](https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=59859.msg2539073#msg2539073). If we compare SpaceX facilities of NAIC 336414 subset with facilities of other companies of the same subset, we will not find anything that stands out.

​

|Company|Location|2022 Injury Rate|Notes| |:-|:-|:-|:-| |SpaceX|Redmond|0.8|Starlink production| |SpaceX|Cape Canaveral|0.9|Launches of Falcon 9| |RUAG SPACE USA INC||1.4|Fairings for ULA| |Relativity Space|Portal Factory|1.6|| |SpaceX|Hawthorne|1.8|F9/FH/Dragon production| |Blue Origin Texas, LLC|Van Horn|1.8|Launches of New Shepard, rocket engine tests| |Sierra Space|2000 Taylor|1.8|| |SpaceX|McGregor|2.7|Rocket engine tests| |United Launch Alliance|ULA-Harlingen|3.1|Components for Atlas V| |Relativity Space|Stennis|3.4|Test operations| |SpaceX|Brownsville|4.8|Starship production/testing| |Relativity Space|Wormhole Factory|5.4|Terran 1/R production| |Karman Space & Defense|AAE Aerospace|6.1|Rocket propulsion insulation and composite structure|

FieldValue
text Oh, that one. That’s actually pretty largely been called out, everything in the copy below this is written and calculated not by me, but better than I ever could: ​ >*“Through interviews and government records, the news organization documented* ***at least 600 injuries*** *of SpaceX workers since 2014.”* **Misleading.** First of all, what they claim to be injuries throughout the article are actually injuries AND illnesses. What do they themselves admit at the end of the article, when p…
label r/technology
dataType comment
communityName r/technology
datetime 2024-05-21
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Raw Record

{
  "text": "Oh, that one. That’s actually pretty largely been called out, everything in the copy below this is written and calculated not by me, but better than I ever could:\n\n​\n\n>*“Through interviews and government records, the news organization documented* ***at least 600 injuries*** *of SpaceX workers since 2014.”*\n\n**Misleading.** First of all, what they claim to be injuries throughout the article are actually injuries AND illnesses. What do they themselves admit at the end of the article, when people have already formed their opinion on this topic:\n\n​\n\n>The data used to calculate the SpaceX rates also included a small number of illnesses.\n\nAnd besides that, how bad is 600 for a company the size of SpaceX? Reuters repeated this figure 5 times in their article, but failed to provide any clear comparison. So I [estimated](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RheeHZXFAMEmGmnLATwYY62y__13UqX2wESsye48zz8/) the change in the number of SpaceX employees in 2014-2022 and calculated how many injuries and illnesses they would have if they exactly repeated the industry average. For the “guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing” industry ([NAIC 336414](https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=336414)) in which SpaceX classifies itself, I came to the figure **\\~460**.\n\nBut this subset does not include the countless number of subcontractors who, although they represent only \\~20% of the entire space industry workforce, have a strong impact on workplace safety as they have statistics 2-3 times worse than the main subset. And since we all know that SpaceX is trying to do everything in-house, I also calculated the average value for the entire space industry and came to **\\~540**. I also calculated the US average and came to a value of **\\~1800**.\n\nSo here is what it looks like: “at least 600 injuries and illnesses” at SpaceX for 2014-2022 represent **at least 10% above the average for the space industry, but still 3 times less than the US average**.\n\n​\n\n>Since LeBlanc’s death in June 2014, which **hasn’t been previously reported**,..\n\n**Dead wrong.** This accident was [reported](https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/accidentsearch.accident_detail?id=63750.015) to OSHA the next day and was [covered](https://web.archive.org/web/20140816103408/https://www.kxxv.com/story/25884562/spacex-employee-dies-in-workplace-accident) by local media another day after (this fact was easy to find out just by [searching](https://www.google.com/search?q=spacex+employee+died&source=lnt&tbs=cdr%3A1%2Ccd_max%3A10%2F31%2F2023) on Google). The subsequent OSHA investigation was also [covered](https://web.archive.org/web/20150501120905/http://www.krgv.com/news/local-news/SpaceX-Fined-for-Safety-Violations/32609346) by the media.\n\n​\n\n>The lax safety culture, more than a dozen current and former employees said, stems in part from Musk’s disdain for perceived bureaucracy and a belief inside SpaceX that it’s **leading an urgent quest to create a refuge in space from a dying Earth**.\n\n**Misleading.** SpaceX's [mission](https://www.spacex.com/mission/) is to “make humanity multiplanetary\", which implies that people will live on two planets, rather than just escape from one to the other. Musk's closest quote with the Reuters’ claim is: *\"Eventually the Sun is going to expand and engulf Earth. It is for sure going to happen –* ***but not any time soon****.\"* The time frame we are talking about is [about 250 million years](https://www.science.org/content/article/earth-s-future-supercontinent-may-be-too-hot-most-mammals), so you don't have to pack your bags just yet.\n\n​\n\n>The data for 2022, which are more complete, reveal injury rates at three major SpaceX industrial facilities that far exceeded the **space-industry average...** **The average was 0.8 injuries per 100 workers for 2022** and has been relatively stable for many years.\n\n**Incorrect.** The Reuters investigator claims that the value of 0.8 is the average for the entire space industry, while in reality it consists of three subsets: “Guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing” ([NAIC 336414](https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=336414)), “Guided missile and space vehicle propulsion unit and propulsion unit parts manufacturing” ([NAIC 336415](https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=336415)) and “Other guided missile and space vehicle parts and auxiliary equipment manufacturing” ([NAIC 336419](https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=336419)). The values for 2022 [are](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RheeHZXFAMEmGmnLATwYY62y__13UqX2wESsye48zz8/edit#gid=435553397) 0.8 / 1.2 / 1.4 respectively, while the average values for 2014-2022 are 0.7 / 1.4 / 1.9 respectively. For the space industry as a whole, the numbers for 2022 and the average for 2014-2022 are both close to 0.9. The US average is 3.0 for 2022 and 3.1 for 2014-2024.\n\nValues for individual facilities are highly variable and can be misleading, which people have already [noticed](https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=59859.msg2539073#msg2539073). If we compare SpaceX facilities of NAIC 336414 subset with facilities of other companies of the same subset, we will not find anything that stands out.\n\n​\n\n|Company|Location|2022 Injury Rate|Notes|\n|:-|:-|:-|:-|\n|SpaceX|Redmond|0.8|Starlink production|\n|SpaceX|Cape Canaveral|0.9|Launches of Falcon 9|\n|RUAG SPACE USA INC||1.4|Fairings for ULA|\n|Relativity Space|Portal Factory|1.6||\n|SpaceX|Hawthorne|1.8|F9/FH/Dragon production|\n|Blue Origin Texas, LLC|Van Horn|1.8|Launches of New Shepard, rocket engine tests|\n|Sierra Space|2000 Taylor|1.8||\n|SpaceX|McGregor|2.7|Rocket engine tests|\n|United Launch Alliance|ULA-Harlingen|3.1|Components for Atlas V|\n|Relativity Space|Stennis|3.4|Test operations|\n|SpaceX|Brownsville|4.8|Starship production/testing|\n|Relativity Space|Wormhole Factory|5.4|Terran 1/R production|\n|Karman Space & Defense|AAE Aerospace|6.1|Rocket propulsion insulation and composite structure|",
  "label": "r/technology",
  "dataType": "comment",
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  "datetime": "2024-05-21",
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}
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