In its 2021 report, the Senate noted that NASA's Human Launch System program was not underfunded, which NASA had claimed in its decision to solely fund SpaceX. NASA issued the new HLS call for proposals a year later, following industry consultation on drafts. While the agency was eventually cleared to proceed, in September 2021 the Senate Appropriations Committee directed NASA to choose a second company to build a crewed Artemis lander. The legal wrangling delayed the implementation of SpaceX's contract by several months. NASA's selection of SpaceX sparked complaints from fellow competitors Blue Origin and Dynetics, along with a lawsuit from Blue Origin. The decision surprised some people, who expected that NASA would choose two of the three companies then vying for the lucrative contract, in part to ensure a backup option. The origin of the new HLS award dates to April 2021, shortly after NASA made SpaceX its sole choice for an Artemis lander after reviewing three bids. This SpaceX concept shows the company's massive Starship vehicle on the moon as a lunar lander for NASA Artemis astronauts. Related: Blue Origin unveils 'Blue Moon,' its big lunar lander There was one other competitor, a consortium led by Northrop Grumman, a former collaborator with Blue Origin during the last HLS round that concluded in 2021. Bidding on the new HLS contract closed in December.
NASA officials declined to say in the conference what made Blue Origin's bid the winning option, saying documentation would be coming out shortly. Lockheed Martin will provide a cislunar transporter to refuel the reusable Blue Moon, which will remain in a "parking orbit" between landing missions to reduce cost. Noting that Japan's ispace and Israel's SpaceIL failed to land their robotic, privately developed landers safely on the surface of the moon recently, Couluris said Blue Origin will lean upon its large industry team for "lessons learned so we don't repeat those lessons again" on the Artemis 5 mission.īlue Origin's "SLD National Team" also includes Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic and Honeybee Robotics. After docking with Gateway, two astronauts will move into Blue Moon to journey to the south pole of the moon for about a week. The astronauts will launch separately aboard NASA's Space Launch System rocket in an Orion spacecraft.
#Judge against contract redacted lunar lander full#
NASA said “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, including a call in 2022 to US industry for recurring crewed lunar landing services."We'll be testing out full lander systems and the full architecture prior to any astronauts entering the vehicle, and that will be roughly one year prior," John Couluris, Blue Origin's vice president for lunar transportation, said during the same press conference.Īrtemis 5 calls for Blue Moon to launch on a yet-to-be-announced rocket and dock with Gateway, a future NASA-led outpost in lunar orbit. NASA had sought 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. SpaceX, headed by Tesla Inc CEO Musk, joined the proceedings as an intervener shortly after the lawsuit was filed.
The US Government Accountability Office in July sided with NASA over its decision to pick a single lunar lander provider, rejecting Blue Origin’s protest. NASA halted work on the lunar lander contract through Monday, part of an agreement among the parties to expedite the litigation schedule, which culminated in Thursday’s ruling. The space agency added it “continues working with multiple American companies to bolster competition and commercial readiness for crewed transportation to the lunar surface.” NASA said “it will resume work with SpaceX” on the lunar lander contract “as soon as possible.”
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