OSHA probing worker death at SpaceX’s Starbase site
OSHA probing worker death at SpaceX’s Starbase site
美国职业安全与健康管理局（OSHA）正在调查 SpaceX 星际基地（Starbase）的一起员工死亡事故
A worker died at SpaceX’s Starbase launch site in South Texas on Friday, and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has opened an investigation. The San Antonio Express-News reported Monday that the unidentified victim died at around 4:17 a.m. local time on May 15, citing OSHA and local officials. The Wall Street Journal later reported that the county sheriff confirmed to the outlet that a worker died. OSHA confirmed to TechCrunch that it is investigating the apparent accident. Representatives for the nearby Brownsville police and fire departments did not respond to requests for comment. SpaceX and the newly-incorporated City of Starbase did not respond to requests for comment. The circumstances of the worker’s death are not immediately clear. OSHA told TechCrunch that it won’t release more information until its investigation is complete, which could take months.
上周五，一名工人在 SpaceX 位于德克萨斯州南部的星际基地（Starbase）发射场死亡，美国职业安全与健康管理局（OSHA）已对此展开调查。《圣安东尼奥快报》周一援引 OSHA 和当地官员的消息报道称，这名身份不明的受害者于 5 月 15 日当地时间凌晨 4:17 左右死亡。《华尔街日报》随后报道称，县治安官向该媒体证实确实有一名工人死亡。OSHA 向 TechCrunch 证实，他们正在调查这起明显的事故。附近的布朗斯维尔警察局和消防局代表未回应置评请求。SpaceX 和新成立的星际基地市也未回应置评请求。目前尚不清楚这名工人死亡的具体情况。OSHA 告诉 TechCrunch，在调查结束前不会发布更多信息，而调查可能需要数月时间。
The death comes just a few days ahead of the first planned launch of SpaceX’s upgraded Starship rocket. Elon Musk’s spaceflight company is also reportedly releasing the detailed prospectus for its initial public offering this week, which is expected to be the biggest ever when that transaction takes place next month.
这起死亡事件发生在该公司计划首次发射升级版星际飞船（Starship）火箭的前几天。据报道，埃隆·马斯克的这家航天公司本周还将发布其首次公开募股（IPO）的详细招股说明书，预计这将是下个月交易发生时史上规模最大的一次 IPO。
SpaceX has long dealt with worker safety problems at its Starbase site, which handles Starship prototype launches and is an active construction zone. In 2025, TechCrunch analyzed OSHA data and determined the Texas launch site had an injury rate that far outpaced those of industry rivals, and was the most dangerous of SpaceX’s worksites. A 2023 Reuters investigation uncovered dozens of previously-unreported injuries and a worker death in 2014 at SpaceX’s McGregor, Texas test site.
长期以来，SpaceX 一直在处理其星际基地站点的工人安全问题，该站点负责星际飞船原型的发射，同时也是一个活跃的施工区。2025 年，TechCrunch 分析了 OSHA 的数据，确定该德克萨斯发射场的工伤率远超行业竞争对手，是 SpaceX 所有工作场所中最危险的一个。路透社 2023 年的一项调查披露了数十起此前未报告的伤害事件，以及 2014 年在 SpaceX 位于德克萨斯州麦格雷戈测试场发生的一起工人死亡事故。
In January, OSHA hit SpaceX with seven “serious” safety violations for, among other things, not properly inspecting a crane before it collapsed at Starbase last June. The safety agency dealt SpaceX the maximum financial penalty on six of those seven violations, totaling $115,850. SpaceX is contesting those penalties, federal records show.
今年 1 月，OSHA 对 SpaceX 开出了七项“严重”安全违规罚单，原因包括去年 6 月星际基地的一台起重机在倒塌前未进行妥善检查等。该安全机构对这七项违规中的六项处以了最高额度罚款，总计 115,850 美元。联邦记录显示，SpaceX 目前正在对这些罚款提出异议。
The company has been hit with multiple lawsuits related to injuries sustained at Starbase in recent years. In December, an employee of one of SpaceX’s subcontractors sued after he was crushed by a large metal support dropped from a crane. The worker, Eduardo Cavazos, suffered a broken hip, knee, and tibia, and OSHA opened a “rapid response investigation,” as TechCrunch first reported in December. OSHA has since closed that rapid response investigation without taking any punitive action, according to a TechCrunch public records request. And the lawsuit was recently dropped because his employee, the subcontractor, has workers compensation insurance that prevents it from being sued, according to Cavazos’ attorney.
近年来，该公司因在星际基地发生的工伤事故面临多起诉讼。去年 12 月，SpaceX 的一名分包商员工在被起重机掉落的大型金属支架压伤后提起诉讼。正如 TechCrunch 在 12 月首次报道的那样，这名工人 Eduardo Cavazos 髋部、膝盖和胫骨骨折，OSHA 当时启动了“快速响应调查”。根据 TechCrunch 的公共记录请求，OSHA 此后已结束了该项快速响应调查，并未采取任何惩罚措施。据 Cavazos 的律师称，该诉讼最近已被撤销，因为他的雇主（即该分包商）拥有工伤赔偿保险，这使其免于被起诉。