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In what could be a setback for Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) SpaceX from CEO Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos-founding of a commercial space flight company Blue Origin sued NASA for a lunar lander contract awarded to the first.
What happened: Last Friday, Blue Origin filed a lawsuit in the United States Federal Claims Court challenging what it claims to be “the illegal and inappropriate evaluation of the proposals” by NASA.
For the uninitiated, Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Dynetics were the three companies that applied for the NASA contract to build a spacecraft to land the first astronauts on the moon since 1972..
Although NASA suggested that it would award several awards, it ultimately decided in favor of SpaceX’s spacecraft proposal. The contract awarded to SpaceX is valued at $ 2.94 billion. Blue Origin’s offer was valued at $ 5.9 billion.
Blue Origin, along with Dynetics, lodged its protest in April with the US Government Accountability Office over the contract award. The companies argued that the agency was required to issue multiple awards, in line with the advert’s stated preference for multiple awards.
Once NASA realized it had less funding than it needed for several awards, it should have opened discussions, changed or canceled the ad, the companies said.
Additionally, they objected to NASA improperly waiving a mandatory solicitation requirement for SpaceX.
Related link: Space tourism has officially taken off
The GAO, however, denied the protests in late July, concluding that the assessment of the three proposals was reasonable and in accordance with government procurement law, regulations and the terms of the announcement.
Following Bezos’ successful space trip in late July, he offered to forgo $ 2 billion of the contracted amount. Bezos is the founder of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and recently stepped down as CEO.
Why this is important: The protest to GAO prevented SpaceX from starting its contract for 95 days when the deal was awarded.
The lawsuit filed in Federal Court is expected to block the contract, which could lead to a long delay. The NASA contract aims to land astronauts on the moon as early as 2024.
“The lawsuit is an attempt to remedy the flaws in the acquisition process found in NASA’s human landing system. We strongly believe that the issues identified in this purchase and its results must be addressed to restore fairness, create competition and ensure a safe return to the Moon for America, ”The Verge reported, citing a spokesperson for Blue Origin.
Related Link: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Book Flight With Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic
Image: Tumisu from Pixabay
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