SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk will never smoke marijuana or drink alcohol on camera, reveals NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine.
During a conversation with the press on Thursday, Nov. 29, Bridenstine talked to reporters about the workplace culture and safety review that the U.S. space agency launched on SpaceX and Boeing. Both companies have received contracts to ferry astronauts from American soil to the International Space Station.
Jim Bridenstine Wants To Reduce The Risk Of Accidents
Although he admitted that the reviews were scheduled way before Musk appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience back in September, Bridenstine said that seeing the tech executive smoke weed on the now-viral video affected the decision.
"I will tell you that was not helpful, and that did not inspire confidence, and the leaders of these organizations need to take that as an example of what to do when you lead an organization that's going to launch American astronauts," he stated at NASA's Washington, D.C. headquarters.
He further explained that the review was inspired by several tragedies in the history of NASA, including the Apollo 1 fire in 1967 that killed three astronauts. Bridenstine said that he spent the time between his nomination and his confirmation as the space agency's administrator reading the investigation reports from the incidents.
Moreover, he shared that he personally spoke to Musk about the controversial podcast appearance.
"I will tell you, he is as committed to safety as anybody, and he understands that that was not appropriate behavior, and you won't be seeing that again," Bridenstine added.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon 2019 Test Flights
SpaceX's Crew Dragon is expected to launch an uncrewed test mission to the ISS on Jan. 7, NASA has revealed. It will lift off atop the Falcon 9 rocket from the Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The crewed test flight is expected to happen around summer 2019.
Boeing, which was also contracted by NASA, is scheduled to launch an uncrewed mission in March and a crewed mission in August. After the test flights, the U.S. space agency will review the performance data and resolve issues before giving the companies the go-ahead for operational missions. If successful, the first operational mission is targeted for August 2019.
