Bezos' Blue Origin files lawsuit against US Government over SpaceX's NASA contract

Jeff Bezos owned Blue Origin has filed a lawsuit against the US government challenging a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) moon landing contract awarded to SpaceX, raising the stakes in a heated standoff over the multibillion-dollar lunar lander programme. 

The lawsuit's details haven't been made public since the filings are sealed. Blue Origin, however, has claimed that the lawsuit is an effort to correct defects in the procurement process revealed in NASA's Human Landing System (HLS), which is the formal name of the programme at the centre of this legal tussle. It aims to use private-sector contracting to develop, manufacture, and test the spacecraft that will place astronauts on the moon for the first time in over five decades.

NASA announced in April that it will award SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract

After previously promising to give numerous contracts to promote the construction of at least two competing lunar landers, NASA stated in April that it will only award SpaceX a single $2.9 billion contract, citing cost as a main reason for the decision. NASA did not receive all of the funding requested for the HLS programme from Congress.

Blue Origin had previously sought review of the contracting decision through the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), but the GAO sided with NASA and refused the request. NASA said in a statement on Monday that it was "notified" of Blue Origin's assertions in court and is now analysing the circumstances of the matter. The NASA statement adds that the agency will offer an update on the path forward for returning to the Moon as fast and securely as possible under Artemis, a space programme aimed at reaching astronauts to the moon.

According to court documents filed with the US Court of Federal Claims, a judge has granted Blue Origin's request to keep the court complaint under seal, claiming that making the information public would expose proprietary information, trade secrets, and confidential financial information, as well as cause "severe competitive harm."

PR battle between Blue Origin and SpaceX

A public relations battle has erupted between SpaceX and Blue Origin, who are controlled by two of the world's wealthiest men, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, respectively. SpaceX's intentions to use its Starship vehicle, a gigantic experimental rocket being tested in South Texas, for the HLS mission have been dubbed "very difficult and high risk" by Blue Origin. Meanwhile, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been mocking Blue Origin's claims on Twitter for weeks, stating that if "lobbying & lawyers could get you to orbit, Bezos would be on Pluto."

(Image- @FutureJurvetson/Twitter)