US Dismisses Bezos' Protest Over NASA Moon Exploration Contract

US GAO Dismisses Bezos' Protest Over 'Unfair Contract with SpaceX'
Bezos Says "NASA Decision Has Issues"... Disputes the Decision

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) sided with NASA by dismissing the protest from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who claimed that NASA's lunar exploration contract was unfair.

Major foreign media reported on the 30th (local time) that GAO released a statement that day saying, "The protest that NASA unfairly awarded a sole-source contract to SpaceX has been dismissed."

Earlier, Blue Origin, the space company founded by Bezos, submitted a protest letter to GAO along with defense contractor Dynetics, who was also a contract candidate, raising issues with the sole-source contract and SpaceX's unfair advantage after NASA selected SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, as the lunar lander contractor for the Artemis lunar landing project in April.

After the dismissal decision was announced, Blue Origin stated, "NASA's decision has fundamental problems, and GAO likely could not resolve them due to limited authority. We believe contracting with two companies is the right solution and will continue to push for this."

Previously, after successfully completing a 100 km space tourism flight, Bezos offered NASA a groundbreaking proposal on the 26th to provide $2 billion (approximately 2.3 trillion KRW) if NASA contracted with Blue Origin.

Dynetics expressed disappointment with GAO's decision but announced plans to participate in other competitions NASA will announce in the future.

NASA emphasized, "With GAO's decision, we can establish a schedule for the first crewed lunar exploration in 50 years with SpaceX. The lunar exploration mission for American astronauts is a priority for the Biden administration."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.