Jeff Bezos Offers NASA $2 Billion in Exchange for Blue Origin Moon Mission Contract

NASA in April awarded Elon Musk's SpaceX a contract to build a spacecraft to bring astronauts to the Moon as early as 2024.

Jeff Bezos Offers NASA $2 Billion in Exchange for Blue Origin Moon Mission Contract

Photo Credit: Reuters

Jezz Bezos recently completed a successful suborbital travel aboard the New Shephard

Highlights
  • Jeff Bezos’ offer came six days after his suborbital travel
  • NASA awarded SpaceX $2.9billion contract for lunar mission spacecraft
  • Blue Origin's lunar lander is called "Blue Moon”
Advertisement

Fresh off his trip to space, billionaire businessman Jeff Bezos on Monday offered to cover up to $2 billion in NASA costs if the US space agency awards his company Blue Origin a contract to make a spacecraft designed to land astronauts back on the moon.

NASA in April awarded rival billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX a $2.9 billion (roughly Rs. 21,595 crores) contract to build a spacecraft to bring astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2024, rejecting bids from Blue Origin and defense contractor Dynetics. Blue Origin had partnered with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper in the bid.

The space agency cited its own funding shortfalls, SpaceX's proven record of orbital missions and other factors in a contract decision that senior NASA official Kathy Lueders called "what's the best value to the government."

In a letter to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Bezos said Blue Origin would waive payments in the government's current fiscal year and the next ones after that up to $2 billion, and pay for an orbital mission to vet its technology. In exchange, Blue Origin would accept a firm, fixed-priced contract, and cover any system development cost overruns, Bezos said.

"NASA veered from its original dual-source acquisition strategy due to perceived near-term budgetary issues, and this offer removes that obstacle," Bezos wrote.

"Without competition, NASA's short-term and long-term lunar ambitions will be delayed, will ultimately cost more, and won't serve the national interest," Bezos added.

A NASA spokesperson said the agency was aware of Bezos' letter but declined to comment further, citing the protest Blue Origin filed with the US Government Accountability Office accusing the agency of giving SpaceX an unfair advantage by allowing it to revise its pricing.

The GAO's decision is expected by early August, though industry sources said Blue Origin views the possibility of a reversal as unlikely.

A SpaceX spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Before choosing SpaceX, NASA had asked for proposals for a spacecraft that would carry astronauts to the lunar surface under its Artemis program to return humans to the moon for the first time since 1972. Blue Origin's lunar lander is called "Blue Moon." Bezos and Musk are the world's richest and third-richest people respectively, according to Forbes.

Bezos' offer came six days after he flew alongside three crewmates to the edge of space aboard Blue Origin's rocket-and-capsule New Shepard, a milestone for the company's bid to become a major player in an emerging space tourism market.

© Thomson Reuters 2021


Amazon's annual shopping extravaganza, Prime Day, is our focus this week on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Nokia Firmly Back in Global 5G Rollout Race After CEO Pekka Lundmark's Shakeup: An Analysis
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »