Elon Musk's SpaceX is under NASA's scanner after the space organization decided to conduct a safety review of the company. Boeing will also undergo the review.
The two companies are under a contract with NASA to fly astronauts to the International Space Station next year.
SpaceX was given $2.6 billion and Boeing received $4.2 billion to help fly astronauts to the International Space Station in what they call a 'Commercial Crew Program'.
The new development took place after NASA expressed its concern over Elon Musk smoking marijuana and drinking whiskey during a podcast which was aired a few months back, according to three officials close to the organization, Washington Post reports.
Musk also landed in hot water in August when he tweeted that Tesla will be going private at $420 a share. Due to the effect the announcement had on the market, Musk was since then forced to step down as Tesla's CEO and had to pay $20 million as part of the settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. They said that he lied about getting the funding to make the car company private.
While NASA's spokesperson refused to mention if the review was prompted due to Musk's recent behaviour, he did say that he wanted to "ensure the companies are meeting NASA's requirements for workplace safety, including the adherence to a drug-free environment."
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in an interview, "If I see something that's inappropriate, the key concern to me is what is the culture that led to that inappropriateness and is NASA involved in that. As an agency, we're not just leading ourselves, but our contractors as well. We need to show the American public that when we put an astronaut on a rocket, they'll be safe."
He added, "Culture and leadership start at the top. Anything that would result in some questioning the culture of safety, we need to fix immediately."
According to the Washington Post, the review will span for months and will be very invasive. The inspection would be led by NASA's Office of Safety and Mission Assurance. The process would involve interviews with of officials of all levels as well as in multiple locations.
Boeing and SpaceX had problems with their equipment in the past year where Boeing was facing some leaks in the propellant while Space X was having problems with the parachutes in the spacecraft.
However, the Post reports that these issues are not involved in the review.
