Blue Origin loses lawsuit, allowing NASA to move ahead with SpaceX moon lander

[Elderberry]

Spaceflight Now by Stephen Clark 11/4/2021

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by Blue Origin over NASA’s award of a $2.9 billion lunar lander contract to SpaceX, clearing the way for the agency to move forward in a partnership with Elon Musk’s space company on a craft to transport astronauts to the surface of the moon.

The decision apparently ends a six-month delay in the start of NASA’s contract with SpaceX for a human-rated moon landing vehicle based on the company’s Starship mega-rocket. The Human Landing System is the final core element to developed for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the surface of the moon.

Judge Richard Hertling from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims rejected a lawsuit filed by Blue Origin, the space company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, that challenged NASA’s award of the Human Landing System contract to SpaceX.

The judge threw out Blue Origin’s lawsuit in a ruling Thursday, and Bezos signaled that Blue Origin will not appeal the decision.

“Not the decision we wanted, but we respect the court’s judgment, and wish full success for NASA and SpaceX on the contract,” Bezos tweeted.

NASA said it will resume work with SpaceX on the HLS contract, known as “Option A” in NASA’s procurement language, as soon as possible. The space agency announced it awarded SpaceX the $2.9 billion HLS contract April 16, choosing the Starship concept over competing bids led by Blue Origin and Dynetics.

More: https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/11/04/blue-origin-loses-lawsuit-clearing-way-for-nasa-to-move-forward-with-spacex-moon-lander/

[Elderberry]

Bezos wishes success to Musk as SpaceX gets court's approval to build $2.9 billion lunar lander

India Today 11/5/2021

https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-lunar-lander-contract-artemis-mission-1873504-2021-11-05

The US Court of Federal Claims in Washington cleared the path for SpaceX to design and build the lunar lander which will be used under Artemis mission to land humans back on the moon.

"Not the decision we wanted, but we respect the court’s judgment, and wish full success for NASA and SpaceX on the contract," tweeted Jeff Bezos after a federal judge rejected a lawsuit by Blue Origin against the US government over Nasa's decision to award a $2.9 billion lunar lander contract to rival billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX.

The US Court of Federal Claims in Washington cleared the path for SpaceX to design and build the lunar lander which will be used under Artemis mission to land humans back on the moon. The court dismissed Blue Origin's plea filed in August this year. According to Reuters, the judge's opinion explaining his reasoning was sealed, as were many other documents in the case, pending a meeting this month on proposed redactions.

Nasa had halted the work on the lunar lander contract through November 1, part of an agreement among the parties to expedite the litigation schedule, which culminated in Thursday's ruling. Nasa said that it will resume the work with SpaceX under the Option A contract as soon as possible.

[Elderberry]

Elon Musk mocks Jeff Bezos after big legal win against Blue Origin

editorji 11/5/2021

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin lost a lawsuit against NASA over a multi-billion dollar contract awarded to SpaceX.

Elon Musk was seen replying with a witty meme on Twitter that said 'You have been judged!'.

The US Federal Court of Claims ruled that the bidding process for the $2.9 billion contract, which was awarded in April, was fair. Blue Origin sued NASA in August this year.

Blue Origin had argued that 'Nasa disregarded key flight safety requirements' in awarding SpaceX the contract.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B21fy1vuiR8

[Elderberry]

NASA delays Moon landings, says Blue Origin legal tactics partly to blame

ARS Technica Eric Berger - 11/9/2021

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/11/nasa-delays-moon-landings-says-blue-origin-legal-tactics-partly-to-blame/

"We've lost nearly seven months in litigation."

Senior NASA officials on Tuesday provided an updated timeline for returning humans to the Moon under the agency's Artemis program, and they discussed costs and other issues related to it. The biggest news came in the form of NASA's formal acknowledgement that a human landing on the Moon in 2024 is not possible, but there were plenty of other noteworthy tidbits.

The briefing with space reporters, led by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, came five days after the US Court of Federal Claims ruled against Blue Origin's lawsuit against NASA for its selection of SpaceX to build a lunar lander for the Artemis program. Previously, Nelson had promised to provide an update on the Artemis program following the lawsuit, and on Tuesday he made good on that.

He came out guns blazing at Blue Origin. "We've lost nearly seven months in litigation, and that likely has pushed the first human landing likely to no earlier than 2025," Nelson said, pinning the delay in NASA's return to the Moon firmly on Blue Origin and its lawyers. During the legal process, NASA was forbidden from working or even talking with SpaceX regarding the Human Landing System (HLS) program. The agency was also unable to provide milestone payments.