Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is suing to stop NASA from awarding SpaceX a lunar lander contract.
“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,” the company told PCMag on Monday. CNBC was first to report the news.
Blue Origin secured a court order to seal the complaint, citing the confidential information at stake. Nevertheless, a separate court filing from the company claims NASA engaged in “unlawful and improper evaluation” during the bidding process for the lunar lander project, which aims to deliver a man and woman on the moon in 2024.
“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,” Blue Origin added in a statement.
In April, NASA awarded the $2.9 billion contract for the lunar lander solely to SpaceX, rather than offer it to multiple companies. The decision sparked rival bidders Blue Origin and Dynetics to file complaints with the US Government and Accountability Office (GAO) over the alleged irregularities in the bidding process.
Last month, Bezos himself also published a letter to NASA protesting the agency’s approach to awarding the contract to a single party. “Instead of investing in two competing lunar landers as originally intended, the agency chose to confer a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar head start to SpaceX. That decision broke the mold of NASA’s successful commercial space programs by putting an end to meaningful competition for years to come,” he wrote.
“Only one HLS (Human Landing System) bidder, SpaceX, was offered the opportunity to revise their price and funding profile, leading to their selection,” he added. “Blue Origin was not offered the same opportunity. That was a mistake, it was unusual, and it was a missed opportunity.”
However, last month the GAO denied the protest petitions from Blue Origin and Dynetics. According to the office, NASA was under no obligation to award the bid to multiple parties.
“In reaching its award decision, NASA concluded that it only had sufficient funding for one contract award,” the office added. “GAO further concluded there was no requirement for NASA to engage in discussions, amend, or cancel the announcement as a result of the amount of funding available for the program.”
Following the denial, NASA paid $300 million to SpaceX for work for the lunar lander. However, the lawsuit from Blue Origin could threaten to delay the contract if a federal judge decides to hear the case.