“I agree that this is a vital mission, and I think SpaceX has been a very innovative company, but I think they’re also a mature company,” Whitaker replied. "They’ve been around 20 years, and I think they need to operate at the highest level of safety. That includes adopting an SMS (Safety Management System) program, and it includes having a whistleblower program.”

Asked what SpaceX could do to shorten the delay in the next Starship test flight, Whitaker replied: “Complying with the regulations would be the best path.”

I get everyone hates Elon but SpaceX is primarily run by someone extremely competent who does a good job at keeping him out of most of it.

It’s frustrating seeing the dichotomy between how the FAA handles Boeing versus SpaceX.

The FAA more or less rubber stamped Boeing for years. A lot of “FAA inspections” were just Boeing inspections that the FAA signed off on at the end. They’ve made some moves to fix that after the 737 Max debacle, but are still dragging their feet. For example reports came out that Boeing managers were rushing planes to completion before the strike, and the FAA didn’t really do shit about it.

Meanwhile with SpaceX they seem to have this “leave no stone unturned” mentality.

From an outsiders perspective, the FAA’s willingness to do their job seems to be very variable in a way that makes me wonder if there aren’t ulterior motives.

I wonder if the FAA is being controlled by China, being used to slow down US space progress to ensure Chinese dominance and space.