SpaceX set aside Blue Origin to bring humans back to the Moon.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, WASHINGTON – Company SpaceX won a contract worth 2.9 billion US dollars or Rp 42 trillion from the American Space Agency (NASA). Owned company Elon Musk it is contracted to build a spacecraft that will take astronauts to the moon in early 2024.
SpaceX managed to beat its rivals, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and defense contractor Dynetics Inc. Bezos and Musk, Forbes’ first and third richest people, are competing to lead humanity back to the moon for the first time since 1972.
Musk made SpaceX’s bid himself. Meanwhile Blue Origin partners with Lockheed Martin Corp, Northrop Grumman Corp and Draper. Dynetics is a unit of Leidos Holdings Inc.
“NASA Rules !!” Musk wrote in Twitter after the announcement, quoted from Japan Today, Sunday (18/4).
The US space agency awarded the contract for the first commercial human lander. This is part of NASA’s Artemis program. The lander will carry two American astronauts to the lunar surface.
“We have to complete the next landing as soon as possible. If they reach their milestone, we have a chance by 2024, “said NASA administrator Steve Jurczyk in a videoconference announcement.
NASA says Starship SpaceX includes a spacious cabin and two air keys for astronauts to walk on the moon. Its architecture has the potential to develop into a fully reusable launch and landing system designed for travel to the moon, Mars and other purposes in outer space.
Meanwhile, NASA office Lisa Watson-Morgan told reporters SpaceX would be asked to conduct a landing test to the moon before humans travel.
On Thursday (15/4), NASA said it would send its crew to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX rocket on April 22.
The agency aims to create a regular service to the month and says it will have separate competition for that contract.
“We need to be able to provide recurring lunar service,” said Mark Kirasich, deputy administrator for NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems division.
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