Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has filed a lawsuit against NASA with the US Court of Federal Claims. The private space firm has filed a complaint about the space agency’s handling of the Human Landing System program. The court challenge comes right after the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) scrapped a protest filed by Blue Origin against NASA’s decision to award a single contract for the Artemis Moon mission.
NASA awarded the contract to Elon Musk’s SpaceX worth $2.9 billion, opting not to fund a $5.9 billion proposal from Jeff Bezos’ company. NASA’s intention was to sign two separate contracts at first, but limited funding from Congress derailed those plans.
NASA’s decision was wrong?
Blue Origin alleged the decision was “fundamentally unfair” because the space agency allowed SpaceX to change its bid, something the company claims didn’t get to do. However, the GAO concluded NASA’s “evaluation of all three proposals was reasonable and consistent with applicable procurement law, regulation, and the announcement’s terms.”
At the time, Jeff Bezos’ company said it would take the matter forward. “We stand firm in our belief that there were fundamental issues with NASA’s decision, but the GAO wasn’t able to address them due to their limited jurisdiction,” the company said following the announcement.
Bezos’ multibillion-dollar offer
“Blue Origin filed suit in the US Court of Federal Claims in an attempt to remedy the flaws in the acquisition process found in NASA’s Human Landing System,” a Blue Origin spokesperson told Engadget. “We firmly believe that the issues identified in this procurement and its outcomes must be addressed to restore fairness, create competition, and ensure a safe return to the Moon for America.”
The new lawsuit could mean more delay for the Human Landing System program and Project Artemis. Recently, Jeff Bezos also offered NASA to pay billions to let Blue Origin take part in the space agency’s Artemis moon missions. In an open letter to NASA chief Bill Nelson on July 26, Bezos offered budgetary assistance of around $2 billion if NASA lets his company build a moon lander for the Artemis mission slated for 2024 launch.
