Bezos’ Blue Origin sues NASA over award of lunar lander contract to Musk’s SpaceX

Blue Origin, the space expedition company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is suing NASA over its awarding of a lunar lander contract to SpaceX, a rival company stated by Elon Musk, CNBC reported. 

In a court filing on Monday, Blue Origin’s lawyers wrote that their bid will protest NASA’s “unlawful and improper evaluation of proposals,” in a reference to the bids made by the companies to win the contract. 

Blue Origin is trying to get the decision to award the contract to SpaceX overturned. The lunar landing contract is worth $2.9 billion, and the Government Accountability Office recently gave its blessing to NASA’s awarding of the contract to SpaceX. 

NASA previously handed out developmental contracts to all three companies worth up to $1 billion, with Blue Origin receiving $579 million, CNBC noted. 

A Blue Origins spokesperson confirmed their lawsuit to The Hill.

“We firmly believe that the issues identified in this procurement and its outcomes must be addressed to restore fairness, create competition, and ensure a safe return to the Moon for America,” the Blue Origin spokesperson said. 

A NASA spokesperson told CNBC in a statement that their agency is currently reviewing the lawsuit.