Blue Origin Federation, LLC v. United States

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Blue Origin Federation, LLC v. United States
Seal of the United States Court of Federal Claims.svg
Court United States Court of Federal Claims
Full case name Blue Origin LLC v. United States of America & Space Exploration Technologies Corporation
Decided4 November 2021
Case opinions
Complaint from Blue Origin is dismissed, NASA is allowed to award SpaceX for developing Starship HLS

On 13 August 2021, Blue Origin filed a complaint to the United States Court of Federal Claims about NASA's award of $2.9 billion to SpaceX. The award was used by the company to further develop Starship HLS, a lunar lander that NASA selected for the Artemis program. On 4 November 2021, the Court of Federal Claims dismissed the complaint, and the accompanying memorandum opinion was titled Blue Origin v. United States & Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Blue Origin's complaint and prior actions have received attention from the news media and spaceflight industries.

Contents

Background

In December 2018, NASA announced it was seeking lunar lander proposals under the Artemis program, which is released under Appendix E of its NeXTSTEP-2 program. [1]

Government Accountability Office

On 26 April 2021, both Blue Origin and Dynetics filed formal protests with the US Government Accountability Office claiming that NASA had improperly evaluated aspects of the proposals. [2] [3] On 30 April 2021, NASA suspended the Starship HLS contract and funding until such time as the GAO could issue a ruling on the protests. [4] [5] In May 2021, Sen. Cantwell, from Blue Origin's state of Washington, introduced an amendment to the "Endless Frontier Act" that directed NASA to reopen the HLS competition and select a second lander proposal, authorized spending of an additional US$10 billion. This funding would require a separate appropriations act. Sen. Sanders criticized the amendment as a "multibillion dollar Bezos bailout", as the money would likely go to Blue Origin, which was founded by Jeff Bezos. [6] [7] [8] [9] The act, including this amendment, was passed by the Senate on 8 June 2021. [10] [11] [ needs update ]

On 30 July 2021, the GAO rejected the protests and found that "NASA did not violate procurement law" in awarding the contract to SpaceX, who bid a much lower cost and more capable system. [12] [13] [14] NASA made the contracted initial payment of US$300M to SpaceX the same day. [15]

CNBC reported on 4 August that "Jeff Bezos' space company remains on the offensive in criticizing NASA's decision to award Elon Musk's SpaceX with the sole contract to build a vehicle to land astronauts on the moon" and that the company had produced an infographic promoting Blue Origin's design over SpaceX's design while leaving out the difference in contract bid prices. [16]

Filing

On 13 August 2021, Blue Origin filed a lawsuit in the US Court of Federal Claims challenging "NASA's unlawful and improper evaluation of proposals." [17] [18] Blue Origin asked the court for an injunction to halt further spending by NASA on the existing contract with SpaceX. [19] Reaction to the lawsuit was mostly negative in the space community, at NASA, and among Blue Origin employees according to space journalist Eric Berger. [20] The judge dismissed the suit on 4 November 2021 and NASA was allowed to resume working with SpaceX. [21]

Outcome

According to a filing in the Court of Federal Claims dated November 4, 2021, the case was dismissed. The decision was made after the facts of the case were considered by the Court of Federal Claims. The presiding judge was Richard A. Hertling. The court's finding provided in the document clarified that Blue Origin failed to establish foul play by NASA. Therefore, Blue Origin failed on merits, and its complaint was dismissed. [22]

NASA Office of Inspector General stated that Blue Origin and Dynetics's bid protests had caused a 4-month delay in the program. [23] : 15  About two years later in May 2023 NASA awarded Blue Origin a $3.4 billion contract to develop a competing moon lander, compared to the $2.89 billion of the original bid that lead to the lawsuit. [21] [24] NASA noted that "adding another human landing system partner to NASA’s Artemis program will increase competition, reduce costs to taxpayers, support a regular cadence of lunar landings, further invest in the lunar economy, and help NASA achieve its goals on and around the Moon in preparation for future astronaut missions to Mars." [24]

Prominence

According to Eric Berger from Ars Technica many in the space community, including some of Blue Origin's employees, reacted negatively to the company's complaint and related actions. [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Origin</span> American aerospace company

Blue Origin Enterprises, L.P., commonly referred to as Blue Origin, is an American aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider. The company makes rocket engines for United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket and is currently operating its suborbital reusable New Shephard vehicle. Blue Origin is developing its heavy-lift launch vehicle named New Glenn, the Blue Moon human lunar lander for NASA's Artemis program, and Orbital Reef space station in partnership with other companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Launch System</span> NASA super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle

The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle used by NASA. As the primary launch vehicle of the Artemis Moon landing program, SLS is designed to launch the crewed Orion spacecraft on a trans-lunar trajectory. The first SLS launch was the uncrewed Artemis I, which took place on 16 November 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dynetics</span> Aerospace and defense manufacturer in the United States

Dynetics is an American applied science and information technology company headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama. Its primary customers are the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the United States Intelligence Community, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artemis III</span> Third orbital flight of the Artemis program

Artemis III is planned to be the first crewed Moon landing mission of the Artemis program and the first crewed flight of the Starship HLS lander. Artemis III is planned to be the second crewed Artemis mission and the first American crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in December 1972. In December 2023, the Government Accountability Office reported that the mission is not likely to occur before 2027; as of January 2024, NASA officially expects Artemis III to launch no earlier than September 2026 due to issues with the valves in Orion's life support system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billionaire space race</span> Billionaire space rivalry

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The Mars race, race to Mars or race for Mars is the competitive environment between various national space agencies, "New Space" and aerospace manufacturers involving crewed missions to Mars, land on Mars, or set a crewed base there. Some of these efforts are part of a greater Mars colonization vision, while others are for glory, or scientific endeavours. Some of this competitiveness is part of the New Space race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Moon (spacecraft)</span> Lunar lander family developed by Blue Origin for the Artemis program

Blue Moon is a family of lunar landers and their associated infrastructure, intended to carry humans and cargo to the Moon, under development by a consortium led by Blue Origin and including Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics. Two versions of Blue Moon are under development: a robotic lander planned to land on the Moon in 2024, and a larger human lander planned to land a crew of four astronauts on the lunar surface for the NASA Artemis V mission in 2029.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial Lunar Payload Services</span> NASA program contracting commercial transportation services to the Moon

Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) is a NASA program to hire companies to send small robotic landers and rovers to the Moon. Most landing sites are near the lunar south pole where they will scout for lunar resources, test in situ resource utilization (ISRU) concepts, and perform lunar science to support the Artemis lunar program. CLPS is intended to buy end-to-end payload services between Earth and the lunar surface using fixed-price contracts. The program achieved the first landing on the moon by a commercial company in history with the IM-1 mission in 2024. The program was extended to add support for large payloads starting after 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Starship</span> Reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle

Starship is a two-stage fully reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle under development by American aerospace company SpaceX. On April 20, 2023, with the first Integrated Flight Test, Starship became the most massive and most powerful vehicle ever to fly. SpaceX has developed Starship with the intention of lowering launch costs using economies of scale. SpaceX aims to achieve this by reusing both rocket stages by "catching" them with the launch tower's systems, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, mass-manufacturing the rockets and adapting it to a wide range of space missions. Starship is the latest project in SpaceX's reusable launch system development program and plan to colonize Mars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artemis program</span> NASA-led lunar exploration program

The Artemis program is a Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), formally established in 2017 via Space Policy Directive 1. It is intended to reestablish a human presence on the Moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The program's stated long-term goal is to establish a permanent base on the Moon to facilitate human missions to Mars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artemis IV</span> Fourth orbital flight of the Artemis program

Artemis IV is a planned mission of the NASA-led Artemis program. The mission will include the fourth use of a Space Launch System (SLS) launch vehicle, will send an Orion spacecraft with four astronauts to the Lunar Gateway space station, install a new module on the Gateway, and conduct the second lunar landing of the Artemis program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artemis V</span> Fifth orbital flight of the Artemis program

Artemis V is the fifth planned mission of NASA's Artemis program and the first crewed flight of the Blue Moon lander. The mission will launch four astronauts on a Space Launch System rocket and an Orion to the Lunar Gateway and will be the third lunar landing of the Artemis program. In addition, Artemis V will also deliver two new elements to the Gateway Space Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing Lunar Lander</span> Abandoned lunar lander proposal

The Boeing Human Landing System (HLS) was the name of a proposed lunar lander concept by Boeing that was submitted by Boeing to NASA on 5 November 2019 as part of the Artemis program and the NextSTEP H. The proposal was presented as the "quickest and simplest method" for a 2024 Moon landing. The lunar lander concept was not selected for funding by NASA as part of Artemis in the 30 April 2020 announcement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starship HLS</span> Lunar lander variant of SpaceX Starship

Starship HLS is a lunar lander variant of the Starship spacecraft that is slated to transfer astronauts from a lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon and back. It is being designed and built by SpaceX under the Human Landing System contract to NASA as a critical element of NASA's Artemis program to land a crew on the Moon.

The Integrated Lander Vehicle (ILV) was a human spaceflight lunar lander design concept proposed in 2020/21 for the NASA Human Landing System (HLS) component of the Artemis program. Blue Origin was the lead contractor for the multi-element lunar lander that was to include major components from several large US government space contractors including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper Laboratory.

The Dynetics Autonomous Logistics Platform for All-Moon Cargo Access (ALPACA)—also known as Dynetics HLS—(ILV) is a human spaceflight lunar lander design concept proposed in 2020/21 for the NASA Human Landing System (HLS) component of the Artemis program. Dynetics was the lead contractor for the ALPACA lander—other contractors included Sierra Nevada Corporation—for NASA's Artemis Program.

A Human Landing System (HLS) is a spacecraft in the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Artemis program that is expected to land humans on the Moon. These are being designed to convey astronauts from the Lunar Gateway space station in lunar orbit to the lunar surface, sustain them there, and then return them to the Gateway station. As of 2024 NASA intends to use Starship HLS for Artemis III, an enhanced Starship HLS for Artemis IV, and a Blue Origin HLS for Artemis V.

References

  1. ↑ Shanessa Jackson (December 12, 2018). "NASA Seeks US Partners to Develop Reusable Systems to Land Astronauts on Moon". NASA. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Blue Origin protests NASA Human Landing System award". SpaceNews . April 26, 2021. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Dynetics protests NASA HLS award". SpaceNews . April 27, 2021. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  4. ↑ "NASA suspends SpaceX's $2.9 billion moon lander contract after rivals protest". The Verge. April 30, 2021. Archived from the original on August 28, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  5. ↑ "NASA tells SpaceX to halt lunar lander work pending contract challenges". CNBC . May 2021. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  6. ↑ Sirota, Sara; Grim, Ryan (May 25, 2021). "Senate Preparing $10 Billion Bailout Fund for Jeff Bezos Space Firm". The Intercept. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  7. ↑ Ferreira, Becky (May 26, 2021). "Bernie Sanders Is Fighting a Massive "Bailout" to Jeff Bezos' Space Company". Vice. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  8. ↑ Berger, Eric (May 24, 2021). "Bernie vs. Blue – Bernie Sanders wants to stop NASA funding for Blue Origin". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on June 1, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  9. ↑ Hamilton, Isobel (May 25, 2021). "Bernie Sanders is trying to block Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin from getting $10 billion NASA funding for a moon-landing mission". Business Insider. Archived from the original on June 1, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  10. ↑ "S.1260 - Endless Frontier Act". Congress.gov. June 8, 2021. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  11. ↑ Berger, Eric (June 10, 2021). "NASA doesn't need to test SLS anymore, but the Senate mandates it anyway". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  12. ↑ "GAO finding denying the protest of the award". July 30, 2021. Archived from the original on August 29, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  13. ↑ Foust, Jeff (July 30, 2021). "GAO denies Blue Origin and Dynetics protests of NASA lunar lander contract". SpaceNews . Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Statement on Blue Origin-Dynetics Decision". July 30, 2021. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  15. ↑ "SpaceX Gets Huge Check From NASA for Moon Mission". Futurism. Archived from the original on December 9, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  16. ↑ Sheetz, Michael (August 4, 2021). "Bezos' Blue Origin calls Musk's Starship 'immensely complex & high risk' for NASA moon missions". CNBC . Archived from the original on August 4, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin sues NASA, escalating its fight for a Moon lander contract". The Verge. August 16, 2021. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021. protest prevented SpaceX from starting its contract for 95 days while the GAO adjudicated the case.
  18. ↑ Sheetz, Michael (August 16, 2021). "Bezos' Blue Origin takes NASA to federal court over award of lunar lander contract to SpaceX". CNBC . Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin takes its lunar rivalry with Elon Musk's SpaceX to claims court - the Washington Post". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  20. ↑ Berger, Eric (August 16, 2021). "Here's why Blue Origin thinks it is justified in continuing to protest NASA". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  21. 1 2 Sheetz, Michael (November 4, 2021). ""Bezos' Blue Origin loses NASA lawsuit over SpaceX $2.9 billion lunar lander contract"". CNBC. Archived from the original on January 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  22. ↑ Blue Origin v. United States & Space Exploration Technologies Corp (Federal Court of Public Opinion November 4, 2021).
  23. ↑ NASA's management of the Artemis missions (PDF) (Report). NASA Office of Inspector General. November 15, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  24. 1 2 "NASA Selects Blue Origin as Second Artemis Lunar Lander Provider". Archived from the original on May 19, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  25. ↑ Berger, Eric (August 16, 2021). "Here's why Blue Origin thinks it is justified in continuing to protest NASA". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
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