NASA agrees to pause SpaceX lunar contract until November after Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin files suit
BY TODD BISHOP on August 19, 2021
An artist’s rendering shows SpaceX’s Starship rocket ship on the moon. (SpaceX Illustration)
NASA paused its contract with SpaceX to take astronauts back to the moon pending the initial outcome of a lawsuit filed by Blue Origin.
The voluntary stay will expire on Nov. 1, two weeks after oral arguments are set to take place in the case, according to a timeline laid out Thursday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
Blue Origin, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ commercial space venture, filed the complaint against the U.S. government over NASA’s decision to award a $2.9 billion contract to Elon Musk’s SpaceX to build what would be the first lunar lander to carry astronauts to the moon since the Apollo era.
The decision was previously the subject of a Blue Origin protest, which was denied by the Government Accountability Office on July 30.
Blue Origin filed its lawsuit under seal, but the company’s previous bid protest disputed NASA’s decision to award a single contract.
NASA originally had hoped to fund two of the three teams to continue work on their human landing systems, which would have provided a backup option. Agency officials cited congressional budget limits as one reason for making only one award.
Todd Bishop is GeekWire's co-founder, a longtime business and technology journalist who covers topics including Amazon, Microsoft, startups, AI, the cloud and health tech, and hosts GeekWire's weekly podcast. Follow him @toddbishop. Email todd@geekwire.com.
Blue Origin leaving humans behind as next mission will carry scientific and research payloads
BY KURT SCHLOSSER on August 18, 2021
NASA paused its contract with SpaceX to take astronauts back to the moon pending the initial outcome of a lawsuit filed by Blue Origin.
The voluntary stay will expire on Nov. 1, two weeks after oral arguments are set to take place in the case, according to a timeline laid out Thursday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
Blue Origin, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ commercial space venture, filed the complaint against the U.S. government over NASA’s decision to award a $2.9 billion contract to Elon Musk’s SpaceX to build what would be the first lunar lander to carry astronauts to the moon since the Apollo era.
The decision was previously the subject of a Blue Origin protest, which was denied by the Government Accountability Office on July 30.
Blue Origin filed its lawsuit under seal, but the company’s previous bid protest disputed NASA’s decision to award a single contract.
NASA originally had hoped to fund two of the three teams to continue work on their human landing systems, which would have provided a backup option. Agency officials cited congressional budget limits as one reason for making only one award.
Todd Bishop is GeekWire's co-founder, a longtime business and technology journalist who covers topics including Amazon, Microsoft, startups, AI, the cloud and health tech, and hosts GeekWire's weekly podcast. Follow him @toddbishop. Email todd@geekwire.com.
Blue Origin leaving humans behind as next mission will carry scientific and research payloads
BY KURT SCHLOSSER on August 18, 2021
(Blue Origin Photo)
Jeff Bezos and his crewmates won’t be hopping aboard for a suborbital redo on the next New Shepard mission. The Amazon founder’s space venture announced Wednesday that the 17th flight of the reusable rocket ship will carry scientific and research payloads.
Blue Origin scheduled the launch for 6:35 a.m. PT on Aug. 25 from its West Texas facility. It’s the fourth flight for the program in 2021 and the eighth for this particular vehicle.
The NS-17 mission will carry NASA lunar landing technologies being tested to help reduce risk and increase confidence for successful missions to the moon. The payload, which flew in a previous experiment on Oct. 13, 2020, is mounted to the exterior of the rocket booster. According to Blue Origin, information from the first flight informed improvements to technology that determines a spacecraft’s location and speed as it approaches the surface of the moon.
Blue Origin’s continued interest and work on future moon missions comes in the wake of the company’s recent legal action against the U.S. government. Blue Origin is suing NASA over its decision to award a $2.9 billion contract to Elon Musk’s SpaceX to build what would be the first lunar lander to carry astronauts to the moon since the Apollo era.
NS-17 will also carry 18 commercial payloads inside the crew capsule, 11 of which are NASA supported.
The rocket will also have another unique payload on the exterior — an art installation called “Suborbital Tryptych,” a series of three portraits by Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo painted on the top of the crew capsule on the main chute covers. “The portraits capture the artist, his mother, and a friend’s mother … and is part of Uplift Aerospace’s Uplift Art Program, whose purpose is to inspire new ideas and generate dialog by making space accessible and connected to the human experience,” Blue Origin said.
Bezos and three crewmates took a 10-minute ride as the first humans aboard a New Shepard ship on July 20.
Writer and editor Kurt Schlosser covers the Geek Life beat for GeekWire. A longtime journalist, photographer and designer, he has worked previously for NBC News, msnbc.com and the Seattle P-I. Follow Kurt on Twitter or reach him at kurt@geekwire.com.
Jeff Bezos and his crewmates won’t be hopping aboard for a suborbital redo on the next New Shepard mission. The Amazon founder’s space venture announced Wednesday that the 17th flight of the reusable rocket ship will carry scientific and research payloads.
Blue Origin scheduled the launch for 6:35 a.m. PT on Aug. 25 from its West Texas facility. It’s the fourth flight for the program in 2021 and the eighth for this particular vehicle.
The NS-17 mission will carry NASA lunar landing technologies being tested to help reduce risk and increase confidence for successful missions to the moon. The payload, which flew in a previous experiment on Oct. 13, 2020, is mounted to the exterior of the rocket booster. According to Blue Origin, information from the first flight informed improvements to technology that determines a spacecraft’s location and speed as it approaches the surface of the moon.
Blue Origin’s continued interest and work on future moon missions comes in the wake of the company’s recent legal action against the U.S. government. Blue Origin is suing NASA over its decision to award a $2.9 billion contract to Elon Musk’s SpaceX to build what would be the first lunar lander to carry astronauts to the moon since the Apollo era.
The rocket will also have another unique payload on the exterior — an art installation called “Suborbital Tryptych,” a series of three portraits by Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo painted on the top of the crew capsule on the main chute covers. “The portraits capture the artist, his mother, and a friend’s mother … and is part of Uplift Aerospace’s Uplift Art Program, whose purpose is to inspire new ideas and generate dialog by making space accessible and connected to the human experience,” Blue Origin said.
Bezos and three crewmates took a 10-minute ride as the first humans aboard a New Shepard ship on July 20.
Writer and editor Kurt Schlosser covers the Geek Life beat for GeekWire. A longtime journalist, photographer and designer, he has worked previously for NBC News, msnbc.com and the Seattle P-I. Follow Kurt on Twitter or reach him at kurt@geekwire.com.
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