Jeff Bezos, fresh from his space trip, offered to pay up to $2bn for Nasa costs if Blue Origin is awarded a contract by the US space agency to build a spacecraft that will land astronauts back on Earth.In April, Nasa awarded SpaceX, owned rival billionaire Elon Musk a $2.9bn contract for the construction of a spacecraft that will carry astronauts to the moon. This contract was rejected by Blue Origin and Defense Contractor Dynetics. Blue Origin was a partner with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, while Draper was a defense contractor.The agency pointed out its funding problems, SpaceX's track record in orbital missions, and other factors in a contract decision Kathy Lueders, senior Nasa official, called the best value for the government.Blue Origin's administrator Bill Nelson was informed by Bezos that they would pay no payments for the current fiscal year, as well as the following ones up to $2bn. They also agreed to pay for an orbital mission in order to test their technology. Blue Origin would be willing to accept a fixed-price contract and pay for any system development costs overruns in exchange.01:40 Jeff Bezos completes successful space flight videoDue to budgetary concerns, Nasa abandoned its original dual-source acquisition strategy. This offer eliminates that obstacle, Bezos said.A spokesperson for Nasa stated that the agency was aware Bezos's letter, but declined to comment further citing the protest Blue Origin filed with US government Accountability Office alleging that the agency gave SpaceX an unfair advantage in allowing it to change its pricing.Although the GAOs decision is expected to be made by August 1, industry sources indicated that Blue Origin considers the possibility of a reversal unlikely.SpaceX representatives did not respond to our request for comment.SpaceX was chosen by Nasa after it had received proposals from spacecraft builders to transport astronauts to the lunar surface. This was part of its Artemis program, which aims to bring humans back to the moon for their first time since 1972. Blue Moon is the name of Blue Origins' lunar lander. According to Forbes, Musk and Bezos are the richest people in the world.Six days ago, Bezos offered to fly with three of his crewmates to the edge space on Blue Origins rocket and capsule New Shepard. This was a significant milestone in the company's efforts to be a major player within an emerging space tourism market.
