Global internet service provider Starlink is one of the largest profit drivers for Elon Musk-owned SpaceX, and for years an unassuming office building in Redmond, Washington was where workers, under a mandate to “triple” production, actually produced satellite components.
Reporter Aspen Ford’s investigation exposed how SpaceX rushed to convert the office building into an impromptu lab, yet failed to install common and readily available equipment to make the space safe for workers. Ford reviewed nearly 1,700 pages of inspection reports and other documents and spoke to workers and others familiar with the site. She found that more than 30 workers in a customer support hub next to the lab had complained about health symptoms related to chemical exposure, but the company didn’t act to protect workers for more than a year until the state got involved. SpaceX then fired workers who spoke up.
The investigation also features source documents and images from state inspection reports and portraits of a SpaceX worker who worked at the site.
