NASA has decided to pause the signed contract with SpaceX to develop the lunar mission for a federal court to review the agreement, observed by Jeff Bezos, CEO of Blue Origin.
Jeff Bezos did it. After filing a lawsuit against NASA, the SpaceX agreement for constructing the vehicles for the next lunar mission will remain on hold. At the same time, a federal court reviews a lawsuit filed by the CEO of Blue Origin regarding “problems identified in that acquisition.”.
Speaking to Reuters, people linked to the agreement signed between NASA and SpaceX in April said that the parties agreed to this pause period. ” NASA officials continue to work with the Department of Justice to review the details of the case and look forward to a timely resolution of this matter,” they said.
If there is no inconvenience, the agreement could be resumed from November 1, while the United States Court of Federal Claims arbitrates the lawsuit.
The demand for Blue Origin
Blue Origin filed a formal protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in April, rejected in July. NASA had only enough funds to award a contract and “did not violate the law or regulation acquisitions, “ the GAO said in a statement.
In the bidding process, which allowed SpaceX, Blue Origin, and other companies to participate, NASA evaluated proposals for a spacecraft that would bring astronauts to the lunar surface under its Artemis program and bring humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972.
The space agency noted that it “is committed to Artemis and maintaining the nation’s world leadership in space exploration. We will go to the Moon and stay with our partners to enable scientific research, develop new technology, and create high-paying jobs for good. every day and in preparation to send astronauts to Mars. “
A spokesman for Blue Origin mentioned that it wanted to “remedy flaws in the acquisition process found in NASA’s Human Landing System.”