NASA chooses SpaceX to return to the Moon, Jeff Bezos files a complaint
Blue Origine, the company of Jeff Bezos, believes that NASA changed the rules of the game at the last moment and eliminated the possibility of competition.
AP - Patrick Semansky
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Billionaire Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin blames NASA for choosing SpaceX to build the next craft that will send astronauts to the moon.
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Blue Origin, the space company of Jeff Bezos believes that the choice by NASA of
the SpaceX
moon
lander
to build the spacecraft that will drop the next American astronauts on the moon, is risky and creates a potential monopoly for Elon's company Musk.
Blue Origin therefore filed a complaint with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an agency dependent on the US Congress.
"
NASA made a faulty acquisition for its
" lunar vessel program, "
and changed the rules of the game at the last moment,
" denounced the company of billionaire Jeff Bezos in a statement sent to AFP.
This "
decision eliminates the possibility of competition (...) and does not only delay, but also compromise the return of America to the Moon
", for the moment announced for 2024, continues the company.
For Jeff Bezos, NASA is taking risks by choosing an “
entirely new
”
vehicle
, the last tests of which have resulted in several explosions.
►
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The US Space Agency announced a little over a week ago that it had chosen the company of billionaire Elon Musk and his Starship rocket still in development to return to the moon.
The contract is worth $ 2.9 billion.
With its complaint, the company Blue Origin hopes that Nasa reverses its decision and seeks new offers.
And if the Space Agency has not yet responded publicly, Elon Musk, him, cracked a rather ironic tweet saying that he could not get Jeff Bezos to orbit.
Not sure that the latter appreciates.
Star wars are well and truly declared.
► To listen:
Space as a field of power rivalries
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