Bezos, Who Lost Lunar Lander to Musk... Sues NASA

Disputing SpaceX's Sole Selection
Blue Origin Files Lawsuit

▲Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Blue Origin, a private space exploration company led by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has filed a lawsuit against NASA. The lawsuit was filed in response to NASA granting SpaceX, a space exploration company founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the sole contract for developing a lunar lander, which Blue Origin opposes.

According to CNBC on the 16th (local time), Blue Origin submitted a complaint to the federal court against NASA on the same day.

Earlier, in April, NASA selected SpaceX as the sole contractor for the lunar lander development project under the 'Artemis' program, which aims to return humans to the Moon. The project is valued at $2.9 billion, and the bidding process included SpaceX, Blue Origin, Dynetics, and others.

Blue Origin's attorney stated in a press release that "NASA selected the lunar lander contractor through an illegal and improper evaluation process."

Blue Origin claimed that NASA entered into a sole-source contract with SpaceX under unfair terms and submitted a protest letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting a review of the contract's appropriateness.

However, the GAO dismissed Blue Origin's protest at the end of last month, stating there was no issue with NASA's decision on the lunar lander contractor.

CNBC reported, "After the GAO dismissed Blue Origin's protest, it appears Blue Origin chose litigation as the next step to overturn NASA's decision."

In its statement, Blue Origin said, "We firmly believe that the issues identified in the lunar lander contract must be addressed to restore fairness, foster competition, and ensure America's safe return to the Moon."

A NASA spokesperson said, "We are reviewing the matter."

SpaceX has not issued a statement.

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