SpaceX's Gwynne Shotwell Accuses Regulators Of Slowing Down Innovation: 'Physics Is Easy. People Are Hard'

SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell on Friday criticized regulators for slowing down the pace of innovation at her rocket manufacturing company.

What Happened: “Permissions are a different thing. Technology is easy. Physics is easy. People are hard; regulator people are the hardest,” Shotwell said at a conference hosted by Baron Capital in New York on Friday. The CEO also alleged that regulations are slowing down innovation in the U.S.

“All we ask is: regulate industries. Make them safe, make them right, make them fair. But we've got to go faster. Much faster,” Shotwell said.

In September, SpaceX said in a blog post that the delay in getting regulatory approvals for the fifth test flight of its ambitious Starship, despite the launch vehicle being ready, is because the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife on the impact of the proposed flight on surrounding wildlife, among other reasons.

The Starship licensing process, the company then said, is being "derailed by issues ranging from the frivolous to the patently absurd."

Bureaucracy is rising and the regulatory red tape is affecting all large projects in America including Starship, company CEO Elon Musk previously alleged.

Why It Matters: President-elect Donald Trump has now named Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to head the Department of Government Efficiency aimed at bringing down government bureaucracy, slashing excess regulations, cutting waste expenditures, and restructuring federal agencies.

Asked about the impact of Musk being named for the Department, Shotwell said, “I think the hope is, by the way, with this administration and this committee and probably others, I think everyone is starting to recognize in all industries that regulation really needs to be reinvented.”

She added that regulatory organizations and regulations both ought to be more efficient, faster, and better.

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• Elon Musk’s SpaceX Delays Starship Test Flight, Next Attempt Now Set For Tuesday

Photo courtesy: Daniel Oberhaus on Flickr