SpaceX’s Moon Landing Contract Temporarily Terminated Due to Blue Origin’s Lawsuit

JAKARTA – NASA decided to agree to a temporary halt to work on a $2.9 billion Moon lander mission contract awarded to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, after billionaire rival Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin filed a lawsuit with the US government.

In its lawsuit, Blue Origin said it was an attempt to correct a flaw in the acquisition process found in NASA’s Human Landing System. READ ALSO – Chinese Scientists Ensure Humanity Will Coexist With Covid-19 Forever

In a statement, NASA explained that the cessation of work with SpaceX on human landing systems until November 1, 2021.

“In exchange for this temporary cessation of work, all parties agreed to an accelerated litigation schedule ending on November 1,” the US space agency said.

“NASA officials continue to work with the Department of Justice to review the details of this case and look forward to a timely resolution of this matter,” he added.

Last month, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) backed NASA in its decision to select a single lunar lander provider, and rejected protests from Blue Origin.

While SpaceX this week intervened in the lawsuit to ensure that the courts have a complete and accurate picture of the facts and circumstances surrounding these protests, including the substantial damages SpaceX would suffer, if the courts provided assistance to Blue Origin.

SpaceX still silent about this. Blue Origin said it remained convinced there were underlying issues with NASA’s decision and that GAO was unable to address them due to their limited jurisdiction.

(wbs)

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