Jeff Bezos’ space exploration firm Blue origin has lost a lawsuit against NASA over a $2.9 billion lunar lander contract awarded to Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
CNBC reports that the U.S. Court of Federal Claims has ruled against a complaint by Jeff Bezos’ Blue origin this week in a lawsuit over NASA’s awarding of a $2.9 billion lunar lander contract to Elon Musk’s SpaceX earlier this year.
Jeff Bezos at Blue Origin press event ( Joe Raedle /Getty)
Federal Judge Richard Hertlin ruled against Blue Origin, putting an end to a battle between Bezos’space exploration company and NASA that began in August. NASA stated that work with SpaceX will continue “as soon as possible” now that a ruling has been made.
Elon Musk strikes a SpaceX pose (pool/Getty)
NASA added: “There will be forthcoming opportunities for companies to partner with NASA in establishing a long-term human presence at the Moon under the agency’s Artemis program.”
A spokesperson for Blue origin told CNBC in a statement that the company’s lawsuit “highlighted the important safety issues with the Human Landing System procurement process that must still be addressed.”
The spokesperson added: “Returning astronauts safely to the Moon through NASA’s public-private partnership model requires an unprejudiced procurement process alongside sound policy that incorporates redundant systems and promotes competition. Blue Origin remains deeply committed to the success of the Artemis program.”
Not the decision we wanted, but we respect the court’s judgment, and wish full success for NASA and SpaceX on the contract. pic.twitter.com/BeXc4A8YaW
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 4, 2021
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk commented on an article about the ruling with a simple meme featuring the character Judge Dredd:
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2021
Musk has previously joked that Bezos retired from his position at Amazon to pursue a career suing SpaceX.
Turns out Besos retired in order to pursue a full-time job filing lawsuits against SpaceX …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 27, 2021
Read more at CNBC here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
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