SpaceX might be leaving YouTube for good.
The popular private space company is reportedly switching to X.com (formerly Twitter) as its only media distribution tool over YouTube for its upcoming activities, removing some of its latest broadcasts from the latter platform.
SpaceX previously broadcasted its activity on both video-sharing platforms even after Elon Musk bought X.com in late 2022.
Going To Greener (?) Pastures
SpaceX has been busy as of late. The company's YouTube viewers may have noticed by now that its recent live streams, such as its Starlink Group 6-12 launch and the splashdown of Crew-6 off the coast of Florida, are now nowhere to be found on its official YouTube channel.
However, the same cannot be said for its X.com profile, which features a complete catalog of the company's past livestreams, including those removed from its YouTube channel.
The removal isn't by accident if one Change.org petition is to be believed. According to the petition in question, SpaceX has reportedly decided to discontinue live streaming on YouTube, with it switching over to X.com instead.
While SpaceX has yet to officially confirm the move, it is unsurprising given that Elon Musk owns X.com and SpaceX. According to Space Explored, SpaceX has been increasing its production on X.com since Musk took over in Nov. 2022, providing multiple streams of different angles of a Starlink launch out of Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
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YouTube is not the only social media platform SpaceX is abandoning in favor of X.com. The company also has an Instagram page that it last updated a week ago, with its last post on the platform being the launch of Starlink Group 6-11 a week ago.
Meanwhile, SpaceX's Flickr page hasn't had new content added to it since a few days before SpaceX's first Starship flight test in April. The company's LinkedIn profile is now almost exclusively used for recruiting purposes; the company rarely posts about its activity there as of press time.
Petition Against SpaceX's Switch
While SpaceX and Musk are happy to make the switch, many astronomy fans aren't. According to Liam Parry, the person who started the petition previously mentioned, SpaceX limited the accessibility and quality of the live streams it broadcasts because of its decision.
He explained that X.com's age restriction policy prevents younger generations from watching their activity online, restricting their excitement and wonder about space exploration. He also mentioned that SpaceX had inadvertently excluded a significant portion of its potential audience because of its switch.
Parry also stated that X.com lacks the streaming capabilities and quality that YouTube offers, forcing viewers to compromise their experience by watching streams on smaller screens. According to the petitioner, many of SpaceX's audience worldwide don't have the technical capabilities X.com requires for streaming purposes.
Although SpaceX's switch from YouTube to X.com is unfortunate for those without an X.com account, astronomy, and SpaceX fans can still watch Crew-6's splashdown on NASA's YouTube channel. This avenue is due to SpaceX's partnership with the space agency via its Commercial Crew Program.
Parry's petition now has 810 signatures as of press time.
Related Article: NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Safely Splashes Down on Earth
