SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shed light on ‘hilarious’ and unexpected government experiments required to be conducted involving seals, sharks and whales as part of their environmental impact assessments for rocket launches.
The SpaceX CEO shared details of goofy experiments that the company was required to fulfil ahead of its Starship launch. Musk highlighted strangulation by over-regulation from the government for space travel as he campaigned in Pennsylvania for former President Donald Trump.
“… it’s a big ocean. There are a lot of sharks! It's not impossible, but it's very unlikely,” Musk said. However, the company eventually did the analysis to confirm that it couldn’t possibly hit a shark. But later, regulators demanded that the company also assess the probability of the vehicle hitting whales, Musk said.
“When you look at a picture of the Pacific, what percent of the surface area do you see as whale? If Starship did hit a whale, honestly, it’s like the whale had it coming, cause the odds are… so low. It's like Final Destination: Whale Edition,” the SpaceX CEO said at a Town Hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Musk also recalled that being asked about “what if the rocket went inside water and exploded inside causing damage to whales”. He joked “if we could actually make that happen – rocket going inside water and turning into a submarine it would be a feat of engineering”.
Musk also described a bizarre scenario where SpaceX was compelled to “kidnap a seal, strap it to a board, put headphones on the seal, and play sonic boom sounds to it” to assess the potential impact of rocket launches on local seal populations.
The experiment, which Musk insists actually took place, was reportedly conducted to address concerns about the effect of sonic booms from rocket launches on seal procreation near Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Despite the area’s history of rocket launches and a steadily increasing seal population, environmental regulators apparently required this unique study.
The Tesla CEO expressed bewilderment at the situation, noting the absurdity of the requirements. He even joked that, based on the data, rocket booms might be an “aphrodisiac” for seals.
“SpaceX was forced by the government to kidnap seals, put earphones on them and play sonic boom sounds to see if they seemed upset,” Musk said in a post on X.
The SpaceX CEO claimed to have photographic evidence of the experiment, describing a surprisingly calm seal wearing headphones while strapped to a board. The test was reportedly conducted twice, using different seals each time.
SpaceX has been facing regulatory hurdles from the US government for its ambitious Starship Super Heavy test launches, which was recently conducted.