Keith’s note: according to an email from Heather Hall at NASA MSFC “NASA CFO has approved HLS as an excepted activity. … Given the contingency plan to protect Artemis II, Artemis III and the supply chain for Artemis IV+, HLS interprets the excepted employees to include:” (full email below)

Keith’s note: HLS program manager Lisa Watson-Morgan is retiring at the end of the month – via an email to the HLS work force.

Keith’s note: Lisa Watson-Morgan HLS Program Manager held a tag-up with over 400 attendees today after NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro sent an email out about the White House FY 2026 “skinny” budget [Audio part 1] [Audio part 2]

Newly Released Court Documents Obliterate Blue Origin’s Lawsuit Against NASA, Futurism The US Court of Federal Claims has released a 47 page document detailing its decision to drop Blue Origin’s legal challenge against NASA — and it’s a scathing rebuttal, full of damning details. In the documents, shared by New York Times space reporter Joey Roulette on Twitter today, the court expanded on its decision. “The Court finds that Blue […]

Breaking: Federal judge rules against Blue Origin in its lawsuit to overturn SpaceX's moon lander contract. pic.twitter.com/sps9cfP39f — Joey Roulette (@joroulette) November 4, 2021 NASA Statement on Artemis Lunar Lander Court Decision “NASA was notified Thursday that the U.S. Court of Federal Claims denied Blue Origin’s bid protest, upholding NASA’s selection of SpaceX to develop and demonstrate a modern human lunar lander. NASA will resume work with SpaceX under the […]

Blue Origin “Gambled” with its Moon lander pricing, NASA says in legal documents, The Verge “Overall, NASA effectively called BS on that argument, saying “Blue Origin made a bet and it lost.” Blue Origin “made an assumption about the Agency’s HLS budget, built its proposal with this figure in mind, and also separately made a calculated bet that if NASA could not afford Blue Origin’s initially-proposed price, the Agency would […]

Draft House Infrastructure Bill Funds NASA and NOAA Space Programs But Not HLS, Space Policy Online “NASA will get an extra $4.4 billion if Congress agrees with draft legislation proposed by the House committee that oversees the agency. While generous, it is far short of what NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is seeking and does not include any money for a second lunar lander for the Artemis program. The committee is […]

Blue Origin Federation, LLC; Dynetics, Inc.-A Leidos Company B-419783; B-419783.2; B-419783.3; B-419783.4 July 30, 2021, GAO “Significantly higher-priced offerors submitting proposals for a demonstration mission for a human landing system for lunar exploration, under a broad agency announcement (BAA) with a preference for two awards, argue that agency was required to advise them via an amendment or discussions (or otherwise cancel the BAA altogether) once the agency learned that it […]

GAO Statement on Blue Origin-Dynetics Decision – Protests Denied “On Friday, July 30, 2021, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied protests filed by Blue Origin Federation, LLC, of South Kent, Washington, and Dynetics, Inc.-A Leidos Company, of Huntsville, Alabama. The protesters challenged their non-selection for awards and the award of optional contract line item numbers to Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), of Hawthorne, California, under Option A to Appendix […]

Letter From Blue Origin Founder Jeff Bezos To NASA Administrator Bill Nelson: Human Landing System “In April (prior to your confirmation as NASA administrator), only one HLS bidder, SpaceX, was offered the opportunity to revise their price and funding profile, leading to their selection. Blue Origin was not offered the same opportunity. That was a mistake, it was unusual, and it was a missed opportunity. But it is not too […]