Elon Musk says Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) once had to capture a seal, strap it to a board and fit it with headphones during sonic-boom-related testing at California’s Vandenberg launch site, an episode he has used to illustrate what he views as regulatory friction surrounding rocket operations.
Musk Recalls Bizarre Seal Testing Requirement
Musk narrated the incident during a November 2023 chat with podcaster Lex Fridman. "We were forced to kidnap a seal, strap it to a board, put headphones on the seal," Musk said, adding, "This is actually real. I have pictures."
Musk said the team repeated the process with a second seal and marveled at how calm the animal remained.
Federal Records Detail Vandenberg Seal Tests
Federal records support the unusual setup, though they describe the underlying procedure in more technical terms. NOAA documentation says researchers captured harbor seals at Vandenberg, restrained them on "boards" and placed headphones over their ears for auditory brainstem-response tests measuring hearing before and after launches.
The records say seals sometimes fell asleep while restrained. Researchers played controlled clicks and tone bursts, then retested the animals after launches. Earlier testing detected no temporary or permanent hearing shifts, while decades of monitoring found launch noise and sonic boom effects generally minimal and temporary.
FAA reviews separately modeled Falcon 9 sonic booms around Vandenberg and the Northern Channel Islands, concluding expected landing-related noise and overpressure would not create significant impacts. SpaceX has nevertheless continued battling California regulators over plans to increase Vandenberg launches, including a dispute that later produced a formal apology from a coastal regulator.
SpaceX Pushes Ahead With Orbital Data Centers
The episode also echoes Musk’s broader complaints about permitting as SpaceX pursues increasingly ambitious infrastructure. The company asked the FCC this year to authorize up to one million solar-powered satellites for an "Orbital Data Center System," as Musk argues that space can bypass terrestrial limits that involve electricity, land and cooling.
Reuters reported in June that Musk expects those AI satellites to rely heavily on existing Starlink V3 technology. SpaceX says Starship could eventually enable orbital AI data centers by launching the solar arrays, radiators and processors needed to scale orbital computing.
Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings indicate that SpaceX stock features a positive price trend across the short, medium and long term.
Photo courtesy: Samuel Boivin / Shutterstock.com
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