Tag: spacex

DOJ files lawsuit accusing SpaceX of hiring discrimination against refugees, asylum recipients

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday filed a lawsuit against SpaceX accusing the company of discriminating against asylum recipients and refugees in its hiring decisions.

The DOJ alleges that SpaceX “routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying and refused to hire or consider them, because of their citizenship status, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).” According to the suit, SpaceX wrongly claimed that federal regulations related to export controls restricted the company to only hiring U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, also known as green card holders.

“Our investigation found that SpaceX failed to fairly consider or hire asylees and refugees because of their citizenship status and imposed what amounted to a ban on their hire regardless of their qualification, in violation of federal law,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. “Our investigation found that SpaceX recruiters and high-level officials took actions that actively discouraged asylees and refugees from seeking work opportunities at the company.”

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SpaceX Should be Seized from Elon Musk, Ex-Bush Speechwriter David Frum Argues

Neocon pundit and Iraq War advocate David Frum wants the U.S. government to seize and nationalize Elon Musk’s SpaceX in order to keep the Starlink satellite terminal system operational in Ukraine. Musk’s company has donated over $80 million worth of equipment to the war-torn nation in order to keep its internet, cell phone and defense capabilities operational. Musk recently announced that his company cannot afford to bankroll the project forever, promoting Frum’s proposal.

“It was always unreasonable, and is becoming unwise, to expect [Elon Musk] to provide Internet to Ukraine for free forever. Western allies should pay. And US should have a plan ready to nationalize Starlink fast if Musk cuts off Ukraine’s connection to advance his political agenda,” Frum wrote in a tweet on Tuesday.

“There’s abundant precedent for US government seizure of critical infrastructure during wars or national emergencies,” the former George W. Bush speechwriter went on to argue. “Of course, reasonable compensation must be paid, per the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution.”

He then cited a link to a Constitution Center article about President Woodrow Wilson’s nationalization of the U.S. railroad system in 1917. Wilson did indeed seize the railroads, which were held under federal control until 1920, under the Army Appropriations Act that was passed by Congress in 1916.

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SpaceX live-stream abruptly cuts when mysterious UFO spotted near rocket – viewers baffled

SPACEX viewers were left baffled this week after a live-stream of the latest Falcon 9 space rocket launch was abruptly changed just when a mysterious UFO appeared.

A mysterious object which appeared underneath the Falcon 9 rocket during its launch on Thursday sent the Internet into a UFO frenzy. SpaceX kicked off the new year by launching its first Falcon 9 rocket, which then rocketed a new handful of Starlink satellites into orbit before returning to Earth. During footage of the live-streamed rocket launch, a mysterious ring-shaped UFO can be seen moving below the rocket.

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NASA Awards SpaceX, Blue Origin, and 3 Other Companies $146 Million in Contracts to Go to the Moon

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, announced this week the award of five contracts for $146 million to U.S. companies, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, to design lunar landers.

As reported by Forbes, these private companies will work over the next 15 months on various projects for the development of the Artemis program to ensure the return of humanity to the moon in 2024.

Contracts are well distributed, according to the statement from NASA:

  • SpaceX: $9.4 million
  • Blue Origin: $25.6 million
  • Dynetics: $40.8 million
  • Lockheed Martin: $35.2 million
  • Northrop Grumman: $34.8 million

The idea is that the five companies develop sustainable models of landing modules to regularly transport astronauts to the moon. Much of what is designed for Earth’s satellite will apply to future missions to Mars.

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SPACEX IS BUILDING A MILITARY ROCKET TO SHIP WEAPONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD

SpaceX and the Pentagon just signed a contract to jointly develop a new rocket that can launch into space and deliver up to 80 tons of cargo and weaponry anywhere in the world — in just one hour.

Tests on the rocket are expected to begin as early as next year, Business Insider reports. It’s expected to shuttle weapons around the world 15 times faster than existing aircraft, like the US C-17 Globemaster.

“Think about moving the equivalent of a C-17 payload anywhere on the globe in less than an hour,” General Stephen Lyons, head of US Transportation Command said at a Wednesday conference.

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