Blue Origin’s loss to SpaceX on the lunar lander contract may get Congress to do something it hadn’t done before: Give NASA extra money, Washington Post “Along with Dynetics, the defense contractor that also lost out on the contract, Blue Origin protested NASA’s decision, saying the space agency “executed a flawed acquisition.” It also took to Capitol Hill, lobbying its allies in Congress to force NASA to come up with […]

NASA Suspends HLS Contract With SpaceXS, SpacePolicyOnline “NASA has suspended its contract with SpaceX for the landing system to take astronauts down to and back from the lunar surface. Two other competitors for the contract, Blue Origin and Dynetics, have filed protests with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and NASA issued the stop work order until GAO resolves the matter. NASA awarded 10-month contracts to three companies one year ago […]

Keith’s note: Congress has consistently appropriated a small fraction of what is needed to continue with Human Lander work. The proposed FY 2022 budget from the Biden Administration still falls far short of what NASA has said that it needs to implement the Artemis program of record. NASA cannot award contracts with money it does not have – or will not get. According to the GAO, who will handle the […]

Coalition for Deep Space Comment As NASA Continues Path to Return to Moon “The Coalition for Deep Space Exploration (Coalition) applauds NASA for awarding a Human Landing System (HLS) contract for the Artemis program. Along with the Space Launch System, the Orion spacecraft, Exploration Ground Systems, and the Gateway, the HLS is a critical component for enabling the return of astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the […]

U.S. prosecutors probe ex-NASA official, Boeing over space contract: sources, Reuters “The U.S. Justice Department has opened a criminal probe into whether NASA’s former head of human spaceflight gave Boeing Co improper guidance during a lucrative lunar-lander contract competition, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The Justice Department has sent subpoenas to NASA, Boeing and Doug Loverro, who led the space agency’s marquee space travel program until […]