According to court filings, SpaceX's $3 billion contract to construct a lunar lander was put on hold on Thursday. This happened after Jeff Bezos Blue Origin sued over it. NASA agreed to temporarily suspend its contract until November 1, while the US Court of Federal Claims (where Blue Origin filed suit) decides the case.
According to someone familiar with SpaceX's sealed filings, Blue Origin asked the court for a pause in SpaceX's contract. This was to allow the litigation to continue. NASA was eager to land astronauts at the Moon in 2024 and agreed to stop SpaceX's contract if all parties agreed on an expedited litigation schedule, a spokesperson said. NASA officials continue to work with the Department of Justice in reviewing the details of the case. They look forward to a prompt resolution of the matter.
The judge stated that oral arguments will be held on October 14th. The judge was informed by SpaceX that it had intervened in the lawsuit this week to provide a full and accurate picture of the protest.
Blue Origin sued NASA last Wednesday over NASA's April decision not to select SpaceX's Starship rocket system as the agencys first lunar landing system since 1972. NASA had stated it could choose between two companies to receive the award. However, it chose one company after receiving less funding from Congress. Blue Origin filed a sealed complaint to the court after its original protest was dismissed by the Government Accountability Office. The April protest put SpaceX's lunar lander contract in jeopardy for 95 days.
Blue Origin launched a campaign to publicize SpaceX's Starship system as unsound and lobby Congress to increase NASA funding to convince the agency to choose a second company. Blue Origin's unsuccessful protest to the GAO claimed NASA violated contracting law. It also claimed that the agency should have canceled or modified the terms of the program after it realized it would not have enough money for two separate contracts. The GAO also claimed that NASA unfairly negotiated SpaceX's terms before it awarded the contract. This was without providing the same opportunities for Blue Origin and Dynetics. Both arguments were rejected by the GAO, which backed NASA's legal decision.
SpaceX has made rapid progress on its Starship program despite the Blue Origins protests. The majority of the funds used to move the program forward were private. Musk tweeted that the first Starship prototype, which is destined for orbit, should be ready to launch within a few weeks. The rocket cannot launch until the Federal Aviation Administration completes a thorough environmental review of SpaceX's launch site in Boca Chica Texas, which is the company's central Starship hub.
Updated August 19, 2007, 7 PM ET: Added statement from a NASA spokesperson.
