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Elon Musk reveals what happens when a rocket launch needs approval from Fish and Wildlife
X ^ | 08/03/2026 | Naruto

Posted on 08/05/2026 10:01:31 PM PDT by SmokingJoe

Elon Musk reveals what happens when a rocket launch needs approval from Fish and Wildlife

Elon: "Nonetheless, we were forced to kidnap a seal, strap it to a board, put headphones on the seal and play sonic boom sounds to it to see if it would be distressed."

Elon: "This is an actual thing that happened. This is actually real. I have pictures."

Before the seal, there was a shark.

Elon: "One of the things that was a bit of a challenge at one point is that they were worried about our rocket hitting a shark."

He asked for the data to calculate the odds. They refused, in case shark hunters got hold of it.

Elon: "Then they said, well, there's another part of Fish and Wildlife that can do this analysis. I'm like, well, why don't you give them the data? They don't, we don't trust them. Like, excuse me, but they're literally in your department."

Then a second agency raised whales.

Elon: "If our rocket does hit a whale, which is extremely unlikely beyond all belief, that whale has some seriously bad luck. It's the least lucky whale ever."

The seal test was for launches out of Vandenberg, where the seal population has been rising for years.

Elon: "So if anything, rocket booms are an aphrodisiac based on the evidence."

Elon: "The amazing part is how calm the seal was. Because if I was a seal, I'd be like, this is the end. They're definitely gonna eat me."

Elon: "Its seal buddies are never gonna believe him that he got strapped to a board and they put headphones on his ears."

They did it twice.

Elon: "I don't think the public is quite aware of the madness that goes on."

(Excerpt) Read more at x.com ...


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KEYWORDS: elonmusk; musk; spacex

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Video at link on X.
1 posted on 08/05/2026 10:01:31 PM PDT by SmokingJoe
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To: SmokingJoe

lol.

Elon has near the patience of Job. no wonder he’s so successful.


2 posted on 08/05/2026 10:05:23 PM PDT by dadfly
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To: SmokingJoe
Life imitates the Far Side.


3 posted on 08/05/2026 10:12:04 PM PDT by Dr. Sivana ("Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye." (John 2:5))
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To: SmokingJoe

And this my friends is what will lead to the end of western civilization. Unbridled bureaucracy pursuing petty, meaningless rules and regulations because they can.


4 posted on 08/05/2026 10:23:47 PM PDT by JParris
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To: SmokingJoe

It’s amazing that we get anything into space anymore. I think the nature lovers would be happiest with humans back in caves.


5 posted on 08/05/2026 10:27:19 PM PDT by KittyKares
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To: SmokingJoe

I have no doubt of this story. It’s what happens when bureaucrats grab legalese as twisted through their fantasies. The key word here is “harass,” which is not permitted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The term then conflates with anything one chooses to deem harassment. Is it mild annoyance?Is it any reaction at all? The thresholds become a matter of virtue signaling, with metrics increasingly minute. The more minute the granularity the more it costs and the more insane become the means of making that determination.

I am reminded of the last time a process I had invented needed an air quality permit. The minute threshold was one pound of VOC per day. It didn’t matter if the process machinery was the size of a city block or a kid with a spray can. Worse, the bigger the process the more likely it would fail, but for the error in the test! I determined that the error in measurement was big enough that if I tested the process enough times, would eventually get a zero result. Bingo.

Never mind that an average tree in that area produces about eight times the maximum threshold. It’s called “phytogenic VOC.”


6 posted on 08/05/2026 10:28:02 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (The tree of liberty needs a rope.)
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To: SmokingJoe
"One of the things that was a bit of a challenge at one point is that they were worried about our rocket hitting a shark."

How does Fish and Wildlife enforce these requirements against lightning and meteors? Do killer whales have a similar agency that regulates intentional whale attacks on watercraft?
7 posted on 08/05/2026 10:38:59 PM PDT by clearcarbon (Fraudulent elections have consequences.)
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To: KittyKares
I think the nature lovers would be happiest with humans back in caves.

And disturb or break the fragile structures? I think not!

They want us back up in the trees.

8 posted on 08/05/2026 11:00:04 PM PDT by ApplegateRanch (Mother Nature needs to give El Nino a good spanking!)
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To: SmokingJoe

It is not just the governmental bureacracy that has lost its collective mind. Have you dealt with an insurance company lately? Or any other organization that is not a sole proprietorship? Stupidity and ineptitude play a starring role in every last outfit in the country where there are more than a handful of people. Any time you hear “It is our policy that ...” you know that you are dealing with people who are too stupid to make a decision on their own. Now when you have to deal with “an organization” you get a choice of an AI programmed by an idiot, or an actual idiot who can barely express themselves in standard english.


9 posted on 08/05/2026 11:08:20 PM PDT by FrozenAssets (You don't have to be crazy to live here, but it helps)
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To: SmokingJoe

.


10 posted on 08/05/2026 11:36:46 PM PDT by sauropod (Make sure Satan has to climb over a lot of Scripture to get to you. John MacArthur Ne supra crepidam)
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To: Dr. Sivana

A great illustration of extreme gov’t agency overreach and law firms/lawyers “hard at work”.


11 posted on 08/05/2026 11:58:28 PM PDT by know.your.why
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To: KittyKares

They’re not nature lovers. They’re leftist zealots who somehow got themselves attached to the government teat. They need to be pried off and tossed outside.


12 posted on 08/06/2026 2:31:09 AM PDT by Buck-Toothed Knuckle Dragger
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To: SmokingJoe
Elon: "Its seal buddies are never gonna believe him that he got strapped to a board and they put headphones on his ears."

Before anything was sent through the headphones, putting the seal through all that nonsense I think would stress it the most.

13 posted on 08/06/2026 2:32:05 AM PDT by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
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To: JParris

No one’s in charge except being in charge of hiring more staff to plump up the numbers of people zir is not properly managing because success at bigger supervisory positions means even bigger supervisory positions. This is why DOGE was such a threat. “Could you tell me what you do around here?”


14 posted on 08/06/2026 3:40:41 AM PDT by AndyJackson
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To: dadfly

btt


15 posted on 08/06/2026 3:45:09 AM PDT by KSCITYBOY (The media is corrupt)
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To: SmokingJoe
The seal test was for launches out of Vandenberg

California... that explains everything.

-PJ

16 posted on 08/06/2026 3:45:28 AM PDT by Political Junkie Too ( * LAAP = Left-wing Activist Agitprop Press (formerly known as the MSM))
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To: FrozenAssets

Have you dealt with H R ?
That didnt really exist 50 years ago.


17 posted on 08/06/2026 3:48:37 AM PDT by George from New England (escaped CT back in 2006)
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To: SmokingJoe
Elon: "If our rocket does hit a whale, which is extremely unlikely beyond all belief, that whale has some seriously bad luck. It's the least lucky whale ever."

What if a whale hits the rocket? Did they ever think of that?

-PJ

18 posted on 08/06/2026 3:50:28 AM PDT by Political Junkie Too ( * LAAP = Left-wing Activist Agitprop Press (formerly known as the MSM))
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To: SmokingJoe

well, the simple fact that not a single person has been hauled in for any of fraud you found heading DOGE, many of the people would simply tell you to have patience!! It takes time to investigate these things!!


19 posted on 08/06/2026 3:51:08 AM PDT by sit-rep (START DEMANDING INDICTMENTS NOW!!!!!)
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To: KittyKares

not them though! they get to keep their 100K+ a year lifestyle...


20 posted on 08/06/2026 3:53:37 AM PDT by sit-rep (START DEMANDING INDICTMENTS NOW!!!!!)
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