Blue Origin loses protest of SpaceX’s $3BN moon landing contract

‘NASA will resume work with SpaceX,’ the agency said in a statement after the United States court ruling. SpaceX is cleared to perform a nearly $3 billion NASA contract to develop technology to land people on the moon after the U.S. Court of Federal Claims dismissed Blue Origin Federation LLC’s protest Thursday. In response to the news, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted a meme saying “You have been judged!” “Our lawsuit with the Court of Federal Claims highlighted the important safety issues with the Human Landing System procurement process that must still be addressed,” a Blue Origin spokesperson said Thursday. “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 claimed that NASA disregarded safety requirements in its decision to select SpaceX and failed to hold proper discussions with Blue Origin.