It seemed like forever ago that everyone was watching Tesla CEO Elon Musk puff some marijuana on the internet. Memes and thinkpieces followed accordingly, and we all moved on. But chief officials at NASA never did. According to the Washington Post, NASA will conduct a safety review of Boeing and SpaceX, “a months-long assessment” to evaluate the “culture” at the two private companies tasked with transporting the agency’s astronauts.
To recap: Musk filmed a podcast with Joe Rogan. In the video, the pair sip whiskey and appear to smoke a joint. At the time, Musk was under investigation from the Securities & Exchange Commission, due to stock-related weed puns the Tesla CEO had made on Twitter.
But reports followed the U.S. Air Force had launched an investigation into Musk’s “drug habits.” A USAF spokesperson then dismissed those reports, telling The Verge, “It’s inaccurate that there is an investigation. We’ll need time to determine the facts and the appropriate process to handle the situation”
But it was “some at NASA’s highest levels” that Musk had “rankled” with his weed session, according to the Post. The space exploration agency will conduct hundreds of interviews across several months, in an effort to examine “everything and anything that could impact safety,” said William Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for human exploration.
Gerstenmaier described the probe as “pretty invasive.” Reports have also narrowed on NASA’s focus on maintaining a drug-free workplace. Space X emphasized, in a statement to the Post, the company “actively promotes workplace safety, and we are confident that our comprehensive drug-free workforce and workplace programs exceed all applicable contractual requirements.”
Back in 2014, NASA announced it would transports its astronauts to the Internal Space Station using Boeing and SpaceX aircraft. Neither company has accomplished space travel with U.S. astronauts yet, though Space X has completed several unmanned supply missions to the ISS since 2012. NASA announced last month that Space X and Boeing now had expected launch dates in June and August of next year, respectively.
Now, it still seems incredibly ludicrous this many people are talking about Elon Musk smoking some weed on the internet. He didn’t even seem that good at it! He literally said, “I’m not a regular smoker of weed,” and everyone could tell. But apparently a government agency will spends millions to satisfy their own concerns about reefer madness. Tell me if you heard that one before.
