Judge Questions Ex-SpaceX Employee's Whistleblower Claims

LOS ANGELES, CA - A judge Monday sounded skeptical of the whistleblower claims of a man who contends he was wrongfully fired by Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

"What smoking gun do you have?" Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Fahey asked attorneys for plaintiff Jason Blasdell.

The judge said it was not clear to him from the evidence before him, which included numerous internal SpaceX emails, that Blasdell was reporting any alleged violation of state or federal law when expressing his concerns about safety issues related to testing procedures of rocket parts.

Fahey also questioned Blasdell's defamation claim as to why being called "disruptive" by management would besmirch the plaintiff's reputation.

The judge did not immediately rule on SpaceX's motion to dismiss Blasdell's case, saying he wanted to take the case under submission. He did not say when he would issue a decision.

Blasdell says he received consistently positive reviews from management while working at the rocket and spacecraft manufacturer's Hawthorne headquarters as an avionics test technician from 2010 until his 2014 firing.

According to his lawsuit filed in April 2016, he began seeing safety issues related to the testing procedures of rocket parts, leading him to question the quality of the testing and the risks it posed for not just the rockets potentially exploding, but for the potential loss of human life, as well.

Blasdell claims he complained to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, company President Gwynne Shotwell and to the firm's human resources department, alleging there were potentially dangerous deviations from protocol that his managers were pressuring test technicians to make.

"Musk accompanied Blasdell to his desk to watch a demonstration of the problems," Blasdell's lawyers state in their court papers. "He also asked Blasdell to summarize his concerns and follow up with him."

Shotwell told Blasdell during an October 2013 meeting that she would investigate his concerns and hire an outside consultant to investigate, according to the plaintiff's court papers.

Blasdell says he followed up in early 2014 when he inquired of Shotwell by email whether the consultant had been hired.

"Ms. Shotwell never responded to plaintiff's inquiry, but instead wrote a separate email to plaintiff criticizing the manner in which plaintiff communicated with management," according to Blasdell's court papers, which say he was fired in April 2014 for being "disruptive."

In their court papers, SpaceX attorneys called Blasdell's lawsuit "baseless." SpaceX attorney Lynne Hermle said there was no evidence Blasdell was reporting any violation of any laws.

But attorney Anthony Nguyen, on behalf of Blasdell, said the plaintiff had no obligation to use the typical legal "buzz words" when coming forth about his allegations.

-- City news SErvice, photo courtesy of SpaceX