![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() While this means that SpaceX can get back to developing their concept – the Starship HLS – in preparation for the Artemis III missions, it is unclear if that mission will happen on schedule. This puts an end to nearly seven months of legal proceedings and gridlock following SpaceX’s selection back in April. Court of Federal Claims officially shot Blue Origin’s protest down. In a recently-announced decision, the U.S. This system is a vital piece of the Artemis Program mission architecture, which will be used in the coming years to transport crew and cargo to the lunar surface. This was none other than the legal action filed by Blue Origin in response to NASA selecting SpaceX to execute the Human Landing System (HLS) contract worth $2.9 billion. "We've been working for some time, and we're still ready to go," he said.For months, the commercial space sector has waited for a pivotal case to be resolved. NASA in early 2022 announced the program for a second lander contract.Ĭouluris, who will lead Blue Origin's development of the moon lander, said Friday's award was hard fought outcome. This new contract is a boost for Bezos, who since founding Blue Origin in 2000 has invested billions into the company to compete for high-profile commercial and government space contracts with SpaceX, a dominant force in satellite launches and human spaceflight.Īfter losing in 2021, Blue Origin unsuccessfully fought to overturn NASA's decision to ignore its Blue Moon lander, first with a watchdog agency and then in court.īlue Origin and lawmakers had pressured NASA to award a second lunar lander contract to promote commercial competition and ensure the agency has a backup ride to the moon. NASA under that program said it could pick up to two companies, but blamed budget constraints for only going with SpaceX. Those companies lost out to SpaceX for the 2021 contract, part of an initial moon lander procurement program. ![]() The space company overcame a rival bid from Leidos-owned defense contractor Dynetics Inc, the head of a partnership with Northrop Grumman. He added that having a second moon lander for the agency's Artemis mission promotes commercial competition, echoing a trend in recent years that reduces costs for NASA.įriday's announcement in Washington was a long-awaited outcome for Blue Origin, which had unsuccessfully had competed for past contracts. "Our partnership will only add to this golden age of human spaceflight," NASA administrator Bill Nelson said. The Blue Moon landing, planned for 2029, is also expected to ferry two astronauts to the surface. SpaceX's Starship lander is poised to conduct the first two astronaut moon landings under NASA's Artemis program, sending a pair of astronauts to the lunar surface for each mission. "Honored to be on this journey with to land astronauts on the Moon - this time to stay," billionaire founder Bezos said in a tweet after the announcement.īlue Origin plans to build its 52-foot (16-meter) tall Blue Moon lander in a partnership with Lockheed Martin, Boeing, spacecraft software firm Draper, and robotics firm Astrobotic. The Blue Origin contract is valued roughly $3.4 billion, NASA's exploration chief Jim Free said, with Blue Origin privately contributing "well north" of that amount, Blue Origin's lunar lander head John Couluris said. Those initial missions using SpaceX's Starship system are slated for later this decade. NASA's decision will give the agency a second ride to the moon under its Artemis program, after it awarded Elon Musk's SpaceX $3 billion in 2021 to land astronauts on the moon for the first time since the final Apollo mission in 1972. WASHINGTON - A team led by Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin won a coveted NASA contract to build a spacecraft that will send astronauts to and from the moon's surface, NASA's chief announced on Friday, capping a high-stakes contest. ![]()
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