The U.S. Government Accountability Office has ended Blue Origin's protest against NASA’s decision not to hire it to build its next lunar lander.NASA gave SpaceX an earlier this year contract to construct its Human Landing System, or the moon lander that will transport astronauts to the surface of the Moon. This is part NASA's Artemis program. There were three companies that had applied for the contract: SpaceX Blue Origin Dynetics and SpaceX. Many expected that NASA would choose two companies to stoke competition as well as have a backup vehicle. They ended up selecting SpaceX with its Starship vehicle.Blue Origin and Dynetics protested to the GAO. Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos wrote an open letter to NASA to try to change NASA's mind.Blue Origin Federation, LLC, South Kent, Washington and Dynetics, Inc. - A Leidos Company, Huntsville, Alabama" were protests that the GAO had received. The office issued a statement on Friday (30 July) following the protests. Dynetics and Blue Origin "challenged their [NASA] non-selection to awards."Related: NASA selects SpaceX Starship to land Artemis astronauts onto the moonNASA issued a statement following the GAO decision.NASA stated that it recognizes that the sending of American astronauts to the moon for a first time since Apollo is a priority and that establishing a long-term presence there is essential for American leadership in space. NASA is moving quickly, but astronaut safety remains the priority. The agency will not compromise the safety of the crew to achieve the long-term goal of being on the moon.Although the statement states that NASA will soon provide updates on Artemis, the human landing systems, and humanity's return from the moon, it doesn't give any specifics about the announcement.NASA concludes with a statement that states, "We will continue working with the Biden Administration & Congress to ensure funding to a robust & sustainable approach for the nation’s return to the moon under a collaborative effort of U.S.commercial partners."An open letter in protestThis denial comes a few days following a letter Bezos sent to NASA administrator Bill Nelson, in which he questioned the agency's decision not to choose SpaceX for the HLS contract. He offered to pay billions in costs in return for a contract.Bezos stated in an open letter that NASA should adopt its original strategy of competition instead of a single source approach. NASA will be able to compete with other sources without having an insurmountable advantage over them. NASA will have limited options when it tries to negotiate missed deadlines and design changes. NASA's long-term and short-term lunar ambitions won't be realized without competition. They will also cost more and not serve the national interests.Bezos continued to explain the benefits of Blue Origin’s HLS approach in a letter. He also offered to permanently waive any NASA payments they may receive for the contract over the next two-years. They offered to pay for the cost of developing a low-Earth orbit mission for the vehicle, as well as any overruns in their contract.SpaceX is the only recipient of the HLS contract, despite their pleas to the GAO.Related: NASA announces plans for Artemis base camp on the Moon beyond 2024Artist's rendition of astronauts walking on moon in NASA's Artemis program. NASA Image CreditGAO's denialThree reasons were given by the GAO, which addressed three major complaints from Blue Origin and Dynetics.They first addressed Blue Origin's claim that NASA was required to make multiple awards consistent the announcement's preference for multiple awards. They found that NASA had the right to choose one recipient of an award and that it didn't violate any laws or regulations.Blue Origin and Dynetics also claimed that NASA was required to "open discussions, amend, cancel or cancel the announcement" after the agency realized that it did not have enough funding to offer HLS contracts to one company. GAO found that NASA wasn't required to do these things, regardless of whether they knew the funding was available.They countered the claim that NASA had "unreasonably assessed" the three proposals in the acquisition process and concluded that the evaluation of all three was "reasonable and consistent with applicable procurement laws, regulations, and the terms of the announcement."The statement stated that the GAO had agreed with Dynetic and Blue Origin, despite denials of their requests to reconsider HLS. GAO agreed to the protesters that NASA had improperly waived what GAO calls a "mandatory solicitation obligation" in relation to the announcement for SpaceX.A silver liningThe GAO stated today, despite this denial that they did not view the merits of the proposals. Their decision does not reflect any opinion on the HLS proposals of the companies to NASA.Nelson is also openly supporting competition in spaceflight. He has spoken out about his support for both commercial and government crew programs, including the HLS contract.Nelson stated July 29 that competition is good during a briefing for Boeing's delayed Starliner OFT-2 uncrewed testing flight. It is the most cost-effective, efficient, and productive work product. It also gives you a backup.He said, "The proof is in the pudding." "Years ago when the competition for commercial crews began, what if there hadn't been two competitors?" What if there had been only Boeing? That's enough to show you why we want competition.He said that competition is needed to select the human landing system for the moon. That's what I believe we will do.SpaceX has been awarded the HLS contract by the agency, and SpaceX has denied requests from the GAO to reconsider. Nelson's last comments about the matter at the briefing on Jul 29 hint at the possibility of the discussion being reopened if NASA receives additional funding.Nelson stated that money is not enough to accomplish all the complex and intricate tasks of this human landing system. "And I am very optimistic at the moment that Congress will give us additional funds. This will allow us to continue with the competition."Chelsea Gohd can be reached at cgohd@space.com. Follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @Spacedotcom
